Nova Sea has decided to build a new and ultra-modern harvesting plant, which will have a maximum annual capacity of 100,000 tonnes. The new harvesting plant will be operational in four to five years. The engineering design project is already underway. Depending on the final choice of solution, the plant will require an investment of NOK 800 million to NOK 1 billion.
“This is an important decision for Nova Sea,” says company CEO Tom Eirik Aasjord. “It shows that we have a board and shareholders who are prepared to invest in the company and in Lovund, which has been one of our success factors to date. This decision will have a major impact on our entire value chain and for our employees. It will also have a substantial ripple effect far beyond the Helgeland district. It shows that it is here we aim to be – now and in the future.”
The new harvesting plant is one of a large number of new investments which Nova Sea is making and which will have a significant impact along the company’s entire internal value chain. In addition, the investment will have a significant ripple effect throughout the Helgeland district and Nordland County. A pre-project is currently underway. This will result in a more detailed specification of the equipment and technology needed, its location and investment costs. The pre-project will have concluded in the summer of 2021.
“We are in a position to undertake such an investment only thanks to the hard work that everyone at Nova Sea puts in every day, both on land and at sea. We are, not least, grateful to have a board of directors that is willing to invest locally to further develop the business and industry we have here. It is in Helgeland we mean to be,” says Aasjord.
Nova Sea is determined to choose innovative and forward-looking solutions and equipment for its new harvesting plant. “We are going to be looking at new technology and modern solutions that will create a good working environment for our employees and allow us to supply fish products of the highest possible quality,” says Aasjord.
The current harvesting plant is operating at maximum capacity. Although the company should be able to handle its own volume in the years ahead, the increased biomass associated with the granted development licences and improved biological performance will make it difficult to do so. In addition, Nova Sea currently has limited opportunities to harvest fish from other salmon farmers because its processing capacity is already fully utilised. The new harvesting plant will give us the capacity to handle our own volume and undertake third-party harvesting.
It is currently not clear what will happen to Nova Sea’s present harvesting premises.
Lovund is located in the municipality of Lurøy, whose mayor, Håkon Lund, is extremely pleased with the new investment:
“Building a new salmon harvesting plant in Lovund is a tremendously important decision,” he says. “It will help safeguard jobs, cement the company’s position and create a lot of optimism throughout the municipality. As Lurøy’s mayor, I’m delighted with this announcement, which will have a ripple effect far beyond our own municipal borders. Lurøy’s district council wishes the company every success with this investment.”
