Proff Kulde, owned by Bluefront Equity, the provider of cooling and heating solutions for the aquaculture and fishing industries, has acquired Paulsen Sveiseservice AS. The transaction seeks to increase its production capacity potentially.
Thus Proff Kulde, based in Svolvær, acquires 100% of the shares of Paulsen Sveiseservice, based in Bø in Vesterålen, Norway. Financial details of the transaction are not known at this time, as both companies have agreed not to disclose them.
"We are through this acquisition increasing our capacity for pipe welding and assembly which are important tasks in our production and project deliveries. This means that we can produce and deliver more and faster to our customers," said Mathias Ingebrigtsen, managing director at Proff Kulde.
This decision follows the direction of Proff Kulde's business growth strategy. During the past year, the company increased its workforce by approximately 40%, as well as its production capacity. Furthermore, in this line, the company has developed and built its R&D test center to increase the speed of development of future cooling and heating technologies.
"Welding is a time-consuming task and there is a shortage of certified welders. Paulsen Sveiseservice will therefore become a fully integrated part of our production line. This provides us with valuable expertise and will enhance our project execution capacity. This makes us even more competitive, especially on larger projects," said Ingebrigtsen.
"We have for many years cooperated with Proff Kulde and know the company and its positive culture well. They have ambitious growth plans both in Norway and internationally. We want to be a part of this in order to create even more jobs here in Vesterålen," said Jostein Paulsen.
The employees of the welding company Paulsen Sveiseservice will continue working. In addition, regarding Paulsen's existing customers, the company explained that they continue serving existing customers.
Bluefront Equity is the only independent, Nordic private equity firm that focuses solely on the seafood industry. Thus, the fund invests in small and medium-sized seafood companies that can make the future seafood industry more sustainable. Bluefront Equity was established by Kjetil Haga and Simen Landmark and is based in Oslo. Last year, seafood investor Bluefront Equity invested to become majority owner of Proff Kulde with a 60 percent ownership share.
Proff Kulde specializes in CO2-based refrigerant and heating solutions, including RSW-solutions for fish cooling, freezing facilities, heat pump systems, and industrial ice machines for fisheries and aquaculture.