Mowi Kritsen smokehouse will use the facility in Brittany, France, for around 18 months while new factory is built.
In July 2018, a fire all but destroyed Mowi’s Brittany-based smoked salmon factory in Landivisiau. In May this year, the board of Mowi decided that it would build an automated, modern smokehouse at the same site to replace the original plant.
For now, temporary operations will take place close to the original site in a former abattoir in Gad, France, from January 2020, reports Ouest France.
The construction of the plant will begin at the end of 2019 so that the first smoked salmon will be produced at the beginning of 2021. The volumes produced will be 2,000 tonnes per year at the time of the launch in January 2021 to reach 3,000 tonnes in January 2022. This will lead to the retention of 166 jobs.
Town Mayor Jean-Marc Puchois, who announced the news, told SalmonBusiness in an email: “In October 2013, the closure of the slaughterhouses in Gad put 889 employees on the roadside, which was an economic drama and a human drama. Six years later, the deconstruction of the upper part and implantation of Mowi temporarily, restores hope. (…) Everything will be done to keep it going after 18 months. It’s a resurrection for our village and a bit of optimism for the future.”
The new smokehouse is expected to cost EUR 23 million.
