April 27, 2023

Finnish poultry company HKScan to invest US$5 million in automation

HKScan, a Finnish poultry company, recently announced an EUR 4.6 million (~US$5 million; EUR 1 = US$1.10) investment to increase automation levels at the company's Rauma, Finland poultry plant, Meat + Poultry reported.

The company stated that the decision would result in up to 35 job losses and more than 200 job changes.

HKScan stated that the job cuts would include retirements, department transfers, and task changes that would take effect in the first half of 2024.

The company anticipates that automation investments and restructuring will result in total annual savings of EUR 3 million (~US$3.2 million) in the second half of 2024.

Jarl Leija, executive vice president for HKScan's business unit Finland, said the goal of increasing automation levels in the Rauma unit is to achieve a significant increase in profitability.

Leija said the investment will also improve employee well-being and product quality, adding that the Rauma unit has undergone significant development work in recent years as a result of good collaboration between management and employees.

The Rauma poultry investment was a continuation of HKScan's productivity and profitability improvement programmes, which were launched in 2020.

-      Meat + Poultry