Iceland Seafood invests 3 million euros to expand its 7,000 m2 plant in Barcelona

The Iceland Seafood International group, based in Reykjavik (Iceland), has invested 3 million euros in expanding 1,700 m2 of floor space, reaching a 7,000 m2 plant in Viladecavalls (Barcelona). The company, one of Iceland's leading fish and seafood exporters, has a subsidiary in Catalonia, Iceland Seafood Ibérica, serving Southern Europe, specializing in fish products processing and packaging.

For this expansion project, the Icelandic group has received the support of ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment, the Business Competitiveness Agency of the Ministry of Business and Labour.

With this investment, the company has expanded its facilities in Catalonia, adding more than 1,700 m2 of floor space to reach a total of 7,000 m2, including production areas, packaging, and other services. From the Viladecavalls branch, Iceland Seafood serves the Spanish market and Italy, Portugal, and other Mediterranean countries. As part of its expansion project, the company has also installed solar panels in its Barcelona plant, producing 540,000 kWh, around 30% of the plant's total consumption.

Regarding products, cod represents 63% of the Catalan subsidiary's business, followed by southern shrimp, which accounts for 16% of the total. Most of its sales (51%) are to the restaurant and hotel sector, but it is also increasingly active in retail.

Iceland Seafood International has been present in Catalonia since 1990, a plant that the company decided to open because "Catalonia represents a very mature and interesting market for cod products, and it also has an excellent geographical location to serve other markets in Southern Europe," according to the company's Operations Director, Josep Maria Salvador. 

According to Salvador, "Catalonia has a culinary richness and a historical relationship with codfish that makes it very important for us" since it is "one of the main importers of codfish in Europe and the only place in the world where there is its own specialized trade, the codder. Despite the changes in the culinary habits and customs of the population, adapting the products to these new trends ensures continuity in the commercial relations between the two countries," he points out.

Founded in 1932, Iceland Seafood International has a 10% share of the country's cod fishing quota. The group has around 950 employees internationally and is present in 11 countries with 7 production plants and 15 own offices and commercial activities in 45 international markets. 

In 2022, the company sold 72,000 tons of product (equivalent to more than one million servings daily). Iceland Seafood is owned by various investors in the Icelandic seafood sector and is listed on Nasdaq Nordic. Its Catalan subsidiary controls Elba (based in Barcelona and specialized in cod) and the Argentinean company Achernar (which specializes in shrimp).