Environmental performance is among the project’s top priorities
HKScan celebrated the topping-out ceremony of its new poultry plant in the Lakari industrial precinct of Rauma on Friday, 20 January 2017. Construction was launched last year and is proceeding on schedule. The plant will be completed in spring and equipment installation is already under way. Production trials will commence in summer and the goal is to bring the entire project to its conclusion by the end of Finland’s centenary year, 2017.
“I am delighted that the project is proceeding on schedule and that we have been able to begin equipment installation as planned. I would like to extend a warm word of thanks to everyone who has been involved in the project so far, both to our internal teams and our external contractors,” says HKScan’s COO Aki Laiho.
The new plant will specialize in the growing poultry segment and chicken products. The state-of the-art equipment that will be installed at the plant will enable HKScan to develop innovative Kariniemen® novelties for the Group’s home and expert markets.
Special focus on health and safety
The modern processes at the plant meet all the latest requirements, which will mean a significant improvement in occupational health and safety for personnel. The work environment has been carefully designed with input from HKScan’s personnel as well as experts from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, who contributed to planning the work practices that will be adopted at the plant. A special effort will be made to prevent exposure to cold conditions through draft control, special protective clothing and special task/workspace planning. Each workstation will be designed for optimized ergonomic comfort.
Environmental goals high on the agenda
All new acquisitions at the plant have been procured in line with HKScan’s Responsibility Programme, with special attention to the material, energy and environmental efficiency of all new equipment. Energy efficiency has been a particularly high priority on the environmental agenda. The new plant will be equipped with special solutions such as a heat recovery system. Environmental safety has also been prioritized in the design of sewage and wastewater treatment systems and refrigerant cycles as well as noice level.
In all respects, special care has been taken to minimize the plant’s total emissions through the use of optimized technology and energy-efficient production lines. The heating system will primarily be based on district heating that is 90%-produced from renewable biofuels, supplemented by the plant’s own efficient heat recovery system.
“We have also made allowances for further improving the plant’s efficiency in the future. For example we plan to increase our energy efficiency by installing more effective systems for heat recovery from flue gases and wastewater treatment systems and by increasing our level of energy self-sufficiency,” explains Laiho.
The new plant is among the most ambitious production investments in HKScan’s history, guaranteeing the long-term survival of food industry jobs in western Finland. The investment is valued at over EUR 80 million.
For further information:
Aki Laiho, COO, HKScan Corporation
Kindly submit a call-back request via Marja Siltala, VP Communications, tel. 010 570 2290.
HKScan is the leading Nordic meat expert. We sell, market and produce high-quality, responsibly-produced pork, beef, poultry and lamb products, processed meats and convenience foods under strong brand names. Our customers are the retail, food service, industrial and export sectors, and our home markets comprise Finland, Sweden, Denmark and the Baltics. We export to close to 50 countries. In 2015, HKScan had net sales of approximately EUR 1.9 billion and some 7,400 employees. www.hkscan.com
