Atria to expand one Swedish plant, close another

Scandinavian meat and poultry company Atria Group is restructuring its production in Sweden, which will eventually lead to the closure of its plant in Malmö.

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Marmit, Freeimages.com
Marmit, Freeimages.com

Scandinavian meat and poultry company Atria Group is restructuring its production in Sweden, which will eventually lead to the closure of its plant in Malmö.

According to a press release, Atria will invest EUR30 million (US$36.6 million) in the restructuring, which includes an expansion and new machinery in the plant in Sköllersta.

When that expansion is concluded, the production in Malmö will be moved to the plants in Sköllersta and Moheda in Sweden and to Hansted in Denmark. The move is expected to be completed during 2023.

The company explained that by centralizing production to fewer plants, Atria can better ensure its future competitiveness with more efficient production and logistics with a lower climate footprint.

There are approximately 160 employees at the Malmö plant.

Jarmo Lindholm, executive vice president of Atria Sweden, said negotiations with the unions have been completed, and the Atria board of directors has considered their demands.

Once production ceases in Malmö, the company intends to sell the building. Atria estimates that this restructuring will save the company about EUR3.5 million annually.

According to the WATTPoultry.com Top Companies Database, Atria has 18 locations in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia and Russia. 

Earlier this month, it was announced that Atria’s sale of Pit-Product, a Russian subsidiary, had been completed. Cherkizovo Group, the largest meat and poultry producer in Russia, acquired the company for an estimated price of EUR30 million.

In October 2020, Atria Group announced that it was investing about EUR155 million to construct a new poultry processing plant on its existing site in Nurmo, Finland. That investment includes new slaughtering, cutting and packaging lines and is expected to increase Atria’s poultry production capacity by about 40%.

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