Producing close to maximum capacity

Over the past year, there has been high activity at Arctic Fish's new  processing facility Drimla in Iceland, located in the town of Bolungarvik, at the very edge of Isafjardardjup.

The facility was completed in August last year and the employees now work six days a week on one shift. Recently, about 125 tons of salmon went through the house in one shift, which is actually more than what the house's facilities were designed for.

From zero to full in three months

Kristjan R. Kristjansson, "COO Harvesting" at Arctic Fish, tells Kyst.no that last week over 600 tons of slaughtered fish left the facility, which is enough for around 1.6 million meals.

- The production at Drimla started in August last year, with a brand new facility and a team that, with the exception of the general manager and quality manager, had no experience in salmon production. Despite this, all employees have done a fantastic job learning quickly and adapting.

He explains that initially, the company had to handle both scaling up production and fine-tuning new equipment, while facing demands for intensive slaughtering due to large volumes in the sea.

- It was a challenging period with a lot of work and long days, but we managed to go from zero to full capacity in just three months - something we are very proud of, notes Kristjansson

Plans to Increase Capacity

Today, the factory has a capacity of about 100-110 tons per shift.

- We plan to increase the capacity to 150 tons per shift in the near future to meet increasing volumes, so that the facility is well equipped to handle the company's growth, explains the Icelander.

The factory is strategically located to serve Arctic Fish's aquaculture facilities spread across the entire Westfjords. See map to the right.

- The distance from the facility to the various aquaculture areas varies, from shorter drives to several hours of transport. When we slaughter salmon from areas outside Isafjardardjup, the wellboat must cross open sea, and bad weather can sometimes cause delays. Nevertheless, there have been few of these challenges, he says satisfied.

Today, the facility has 38 employees, of which 22 are production workers, four in the technical team, seven in the hygiene department, and five in administration and quality assurance.

- Better control

For Arctic Fish, the establishment of "Drimla" has been an important strengthening of the operation.

- With our own slaughterhouse, we have gained better control over production, which allows us to utilize our aquaculture licenses more effectively and at the same time ensure greater operational safety. It also gives us more flexibility to adapt to both the market and changes in the environment, he points out.

In addition to the development at the slaughterhouse, Arctic Fish has recently started a new aquaculture facility in Sandeyri, located in Isafjardardjup. This is part of the company's long-term plan for further growth and increased activity in the coming years.

The total MTB capacity for Arctic Fish, which operates in the Westfjords of Iceland, is now 29,800 tons, of which 27,000 tons are for salmon with permits located in five different aquaculture areas.

He mentions that there are also investments underway in other parts of the business, including possible new boats and infrastructure projects that will support further expansion.

Will send salmon to several countries

The Icelandic salmon is sent all over the world. Most to Rotterdam and from there all over Europe. But also to America.

The company is also in the final stages of obtaining export licenses to China and Australia and can therefore soon begin exporting fish there.

Arctic Fish is primarily owned by Mowi, which purchased a 51.28% stake in the company.

Read more Kyst.no articles about Arctic Fish here.