Seafood investor, Bluefront Equity, invested in Proff Kulde AS, a supplier of refrigerant and heating solutions for the seafood industry.
“Although Proff Kulde is a relatively small company, its pace of innovation and sustainability focus is far ahead of other companies in this segment. Targeted R&D efforts have, for many years, been key to developing cost-efficient and sustainable solutions with minimal environmental impact,” said Simen Landmark, partner at Bluefront Equity.
Several years ago, Proff Kulde chose to invest in its own technology development by improving traditional solutions that were not perfectly suited to the seafood industry. Robustness, improved user-friendliness and increased efficiency in refrigeration and heating systems were the cornerstones of the strategy. This has resulted in a broad product portfolio that consists of in-house designed, patented refrigeration and heating solutions based on CO2, which is a natural refrigerant, with associated control systems. Proff Kulde has, amongst other things, developed CO2-based RSW solutions (refrigerated seawater) which are popular for cooling fish on board fishing vessels and in the land-based aquaculture industry.
Proff Kulde’s energy-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions are key reasons why Bluefront Equity’s fund, Bluefront Capital I, invested in the company. “Bringing a professional seafood and sustainability investor in as a shareholder will be positive for both our customers and us. Improved access to capital will allow us to further increase our pace of innovation and production capacity. A continued strong commitment to innovation and product development in the coming years is a plan that is agreed between the management and Bluefront Equity,” said Mathias Ingebrigtsen, managing director and co-founder of Proff Kulde.
Following completion of the transaction, Bluefront Equity will own approximately 60% of Proff Kulde. Proff Kulde is headquartered in Svolvær, North Norway. Today, Proff Kulde’s main geographical market is North Norway, but the company also serves customers elsewhere in the country.
“A key reason for bringing Bluefront Equity onboard as shareholder is because there is a large untapped potential for our technology throughout Norway and the rest of Europe. An increased focus on international markets will be an important part of our strategy going forward. We want to create more jobs here in Svolvær,” added Mathias Ingebrigtsen, managing director of Proff Kulde.
