Kalaneuvos to invest more than 20M€ on factory expansion
Kalaneuvos is going to expand its operations and more than double its production facilities in Sastamala. Construction on the expansion has started in September 2018.
Factory expansion plan by 2020 in a nutshell:
- Over 21 million EUR investment
- Will be finished by the beginning of 2020
- New personnel will be hired – over 30 new employees
- The size of the production facility will increase to more than 11,000 square metres in total
- Significant production automation and volume growth
- Fish smoking capacity will double up to 40 000 kg/day
- Filleting capacity will more than double and be more efficient, up to 30 000 kg/day
- New investments for packaging lines and machines, almost half of the investments is spent for new equipment and machines
- Kalaneuvos strenghtens its position as the largest fish smoking manufacturer in the Nordic countries
- Extension will provide about 14 million kg of smoked fish annually
- Filleting capacity about 12 million kg annually
- Factory extension supports the growth of ready-to-eat products export
There is a global demand for the high quality Finnish fish products.
“People are eating more and more fish both in Finland and abroad. We want to meet this demand and be an even stronger operator in the field,” says CEO, kalatalousneuvos Veijo Hukkanen.
Kalaneuvos is the largest operator in the fishery industry in Finland. The current factory, located in Sastamala, has an area of approximately 5,000 square metres. After the expansion, the size of the production facility will increase to more than 11,000 square metres. The expansion will generate more than 30 jobs.
KALANEUVOS MANUFACTURES ALL OF ITS PRODUCTS IN FINLAND
The upcoming expansion is the largest in the history of Kalaneuvos. It will double the factory’s smoking capacity to more than 35,000 kilograms per day. This means that the largest fish smoker in Finland will be able to smoke over 14 million kilograms of fish per year.
The fish filleting capacity, on the other hand, is set to increase to 12 million kilograms yearly.
Kalaneuvos is a responsible Finnish family-run company. The company takes environmental issues very seriously, and the expansion, utilising cutting-edge technology, will be built to be as eco-friendly as possible.
“We want to work for the promotion of Finnish food in the long term. We feel that it is important to develop and keep fishery expertise and processed fish production in Finland, even though the ownership of many companies in the industry has moved abroad in recent years”, Veijo Hukkanen summarises.
The expansion is set to be completed in the autumn of 2019. The investment costs approximately MEUR 21, all of which will be coming from the company. Roughly half of this sum is spent on new production equipment.
The investment will enable increased export of Kalaneuvos products. Exports accounted for approximately 20 per cent of the company’s turnover, i.e. MEUR 14, already in 2017, and Kalaneuvos was awarded the Tampere Chamber of Commerce Export Award (Pirkanmaan vientipalkinto).
In total, Kalaneuvos manufactures more than 11 million kilos of processed fish products annually. The Sastamala factory currently employs 110 people.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Veijo Hukkanen
President/CEO
+358 (0)10 4111 410
veijo.hukkanen(at)kalaneuvos.fi
Toni Hukkanen
Executive Vice President
+358 (0)10 4111 495
toni.hukkanen(at)kalaneuvos.fi
Kalaneuvos Oy is a Finnish family-run company which has produced high-quality fish products since 1975. The company operates in Sastamala and Turku. Kalaneuvos is the pioneer in fish processing and the wholesale, import and export of fish as well as fish farming in Finland. The company develops, produces and markets premium fish products under the Kalaneuvos brand as well as private label brands for store chains. The cleverly processed products and high quality ingredients of the Finnish fish which have been caught and farmed in pure Finnish waters, and in addition the best imported raw materials, the company focuses on advanced production methods. Which guarantee high standard prepared products and the superior taste.
The Kalaneuvos Group also includes Martin Kala Oy in Turku, the largest Baltic herring fillet manufacturer in Finland. The group’s turnover surpassed MEUR 76 in 2018. The company employs 130 people and handles over 10 million kilos of fish per year. Kalaneuvos Oy and the Hukkanen family of entrepreneurs also own the Nordic Fish Group, and a daughter company Nordic Trout which is concentrating on fish farming, with over 30 locations in Mainland Finland, Aland and Sweden. Nordic Fish group’s turnover was MEUR 52 in 2017. The company employs 100 persons and handles approximately 10 million kilos of fish per year. Combined, the companies owned by the Hukkanen family form the largest operator in the fish industry in Finland.