Production facilities
We want to keep developing wholesome, tasty seafood products that are easy to prepare. This means we need fantastic raw materials.
In other words, top quality raw materials are the starting point for all our products. At markets and preparation plants all over the world there are skilled inspectors and buyers on site to guarantee the highest possible quality. They assess the taste, consistency and appearance of the raw materials. This is an art which, like a wine expert’s, requires a developed palate and sense of smell, a trained eye and long experience. Torsten Pihl, a raw materials buyer at Abba Seafood, is one such master of the art.
“It's the product quality that separates the herring suppliers. The quality primarily depends on the raw material and the preparation. It’s important for the fish to be caught at the right time and to be seasoned and stored correctly. A really good herring should almost melt in the mouth. That’s what makes it a taste experience,” says Torsten. And with his smidgen over 30 years’ experience of buying, production and preparation, we can definitely say that he knows what he’s talking about.
Rock chamber
The raw materials which have gone through the careful selection and buying process are taken to our raw materials centre in Kungshamn in the north of Bohuslän county. Here they will be stored and processed in the rock chamber. Deep inside the Bohuslän basement rock there is storage space with enough room for 95 000 barrels. This is where roe, herring, anchovies and sprats mature for one or more months and are seasoned by hand following secret recipes from Abba’s own spicery. Nowadays most of the barrels are made from plastic, but cod roe is still stored in wooden barrels. The roe is treated like the finest champagne, with the barrels being turned one half turn every eight weeks.
The fact that we have total control over all our raw materials is an essential part of our quality work. Even in the rock chamber our own inspectors are responsible for monitoring the quality right up until the finished product is produced. Around 20 people in total work at the raw materials centre with its eight large cold stores covering a total area of 15 000 m2. All barrels containing roe, herring and anchovies which are stored here are marked with codes. This allows us to trace the raw materials right back to the fishing vessel that caught them and the time of the catch.
Our production facilities – the Hagaberg factory and Hovenäset – are also located near the raw materials centre.
Hagaberg factory
Four factories are gathered under one roof at Abba Seafood’s Hagaberg production facility in Kungshamn. Around 200 people working here make products including caviar, herring, mackerel and spreads for our different markets. The factory has undergone extensive changes in the last few years with major investments being made in new technology. Hagaberg is now considered to be one of the most modern processing facilities in the industry.
Hovenäset
Hovenäset, Abba Seafood’s shellfish factory, produces prawns, crayfish tails, stockfish and seafood mix for our Swedish and foreign markets. Some 20 members of staff work there, whose tasks include boiling, shelling and sorting the prawns, and placing the raw seafood in brine.
Abba Seafood’s shellfish are also fully traceable. Every pallet of shellfish on the boats is marked with a unique ID tag which is scanned when the raw materials are processed. And it goes without saying that we can also trace ingredients, packaging and batch numbers right back to source.
Central warehouse
After production the finished products – herring, caviar, lumpfish roe, prawns, etc. –are transported to the central warehouse in Uddevalla. Around 20 people work here. All the products are trans-shipped and stored in the 8 000 m2 space, some in a cold store and some in a non-perishable store. All chilled products are kept in an unbroken cold chain, i.e. at the same temperature all the way to the shop.
Finally, the products are transported from Uddevalla to wholesalers and trans-shipment depots for distribution in Sweden, other Nordic countries and non-Nordic countries.