The aquaculture division of the Sandefjord-based company, Krüger Kaldnes, was acquired last year by the Singapore-based corporation 8F Asset Management, which also owns the aquaculture giant Pure Salmon Limited. The core focus of the corporation is to deliver sustainable land-based salmon farming facilities closer to where consumers live.
The new company, Pure Salmon Kaldnes AS, operates as a consultant, contractor and supplier of equipment, services and technologies in RAS for the land-based aquaculture industry. In autumn of last year, the executive management revealed the big, hairy ambitious goal of doubling the number of employees in two to three years in addition to establishing new physical office locations nationally and internationally. Things have developed much faster than that.
Huge interest
“I would like to use the old slogan from the winter Olympics in Lillehammer, They said we couldn’t do it, so we did it,” said the director of Business Services, Per Håkon Stenhaug. “In fact, we are one and a half years ahead of schedule. Since last December, we have employed as many as 35 new employees, and throughout the coming year, we need to recruit another 30. Thus, we will be close to 120 employees when we enter 2023. Also, we have managed to retain almost every single one of all the great employees who have been with us since the acquisition. In that sense, we have managed to scale a great team that was already very strong from the beginning, explains the director.”
“The influx of applicants has been enormous, more specifically, a total of 545 applicants in just the three months. We have spent a lot of time and energy communicating to prospects in other industries that aquaculture is the industry of the future, and that’s why I am happy to reveal that as many as 65% of our new employees come from other industries. We have earned the trust of many highly competent new employees, and today I feel that we have already won the first battle in the war for top talent,” Stenhaug continued while pointing out that Pure Salmon Kaldnes has now developed from being an important player nationally to becoming a strong international player.
Signed Nofima director
“We will build facilities in all parts of the world, and we believe this is an important reason why we have gained that much interest from both native and foreign applicants with such high competence. In addition, I think our strong focus on sustainability and fish welfare probably has contributed to the high interest alongside the company's continuous focus on research and innovation,” Stenhaug explained, adding that 40% of the new employees are women.
“Through continuous improvement work, we will strengthen our ability to deliver the right quality to customers, and we will nurture safe and secure jobs both at home and abroad. Also, the international aspect is very exciting,” said Helland, who owns a seat on the board at European Aquaculture Technology & Innovation Platform (EATiP).
From Parmaq to Pure Salmon
“I was triggered by new challenges and wanted to try something new. I want to develop myself within management and leadership, and Pure Salmon Kaldnes suited me very well as it is a company scaling up with strong growth ambitions. In addition, it is no secret that international opportunities were important. I get highly motivated by working with new cultures and people. I simply believe this will be a very exciting journey,” said Lystad. He will serve as head of aftersales department.
