Atlantic Sapphire CEO Johan Andreassen’s wife Kamilla Utgård shares photos of their Norwegian getaway.
The publication Romsdals Budstikke reports that Johan Andreassen and his wife Kamilla Utgård have built a 300m3 residence at Daugstad, Romsdal, Western Norway.
The plot where the house is located is separate from Johan Andreassen’s parent’s farm. The area was formerly called Villahagen.
“We are very pleased with the result. The house was exactly the way we wanted it,” Kamilla Utgård said about the house, which was ready last autumn.
Wanted the children to feel what it is like to be Norwegian
The couple moved to Florida in 2012, with Johan Andreassen and his longtime business partner Bjørn-Vegard Løvik making big plans for land-based salmon farming in the American South.
Andreassen and Utgård have three children. The two youngest were so small that they can hardly remember life in Norway. Last autumn, Utgård and these two children went home to the new house in Norway.
“As the years went by, we as parents have known more and more that we wanted the two little ones, Lea (13) and Amandus (11) to also know what it was like to be Norwegian. Really Norwegian. That’s why we went home,” explained Utgård.
According to Utgård, the original plan was to be in Norway for one school year before returning to Miami.
“Freedom and safety are making us stay longer. We’ll have to take one year at a time,” she said.
Inspired by Latin neighborhoods
The couple planned the construction process from the family’s 57th-floor apartment in a Miami skyscraper. When Andreassen and Utgård were designing, they drew inspiration from a Latin neighborhood in Miami, among others.
“I always drove by slowly as I passed. There was a lot of great to see. Many newly built minimalist homes. The idea for the open airy entrance with free visibility throughout the house comes from that area,” said Utgård who is a trained photographer.
Safe
In Miami, Johan Andreassen works long days. Their oldest son Emil (22) is attending his senior year of college at Miami University. Johan Andreassen’s plan to visit Kamilla and the little ones once a month had to be put on hold in March when the pandemic hit.
But after eight years of work, the land-based project Atlantic Sapphire celebrated a milestone in late September when its first salmon were harvested.
“It is an incredibly exciting time for the project. Johan appreciates that we are safe here at home with family and friends. Life in Miami, has changed since the entrance of the coronavirus. The city that largely lives on nightlife and entertainment has been shut down. Many have lost their jobs and livelihoods. There has been a depression over the city,” said Utgård.
Love salmon
The family is excited about how Atlantic Sapphire, which has now begun to harvest, will be welcomed. The US market has enormous growth potential. Atlantic Sapphire has ambitions to harvest 220,000 tonnes of salmon by 2031, which will make the company one of the world’s largest Atlantic salmon farmers.
“Americans are becoming more and more fond of salmon. The loins make it easy to make quick dishes. The way the Americans want it,” Utgård said.
She even serves fish at least three times a week.
“Their favorite is salmon in parmesan and cream sauce. The kids can’t get enough, they love it,” she concluded.
