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Kalavapriikki/Finland: Leading Force in Processing Finnish Rainbow Trout

Founded in 2007, Kalavapriikki started in 2009 to evolve the fish business after Heinontukku acquired the company. In 2016, Kalavapriikki opened a modern production facility in Kuopio’s Pieni Naulamäki area and run this business there for eight years with a reasonably strong growth. During that time they only did value added processing like smoking, cold smoking, graved, flaming and barbecuing. During this period, the company’s long-term vision became increasingly clear: building a business centered entirely on domestic Finnish fish.
May 19, 2026
Aerial view of an industrial building complex near a frozen lake with surrounding pine trees.

Profitability, Responsibility, and Quality

The company’s long-term vision of Kalavapriikki is pretty clear: building a business centered entirely on domestic Finnish fish.

That vision accelerated in 2024 when Kalavapriikki took over a new production facility — coincidentally the same location where the founder had started his fish industry career 25 years earlier. Extensive renovations began immediately, and by October 2024. The first equipment had been installed, including a state-of-the-art BAADER filleting line.

Industrial touchscreen display showing a schematic of a production line in a factory setting.
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The installation quickly proved its value, processing hundreds of thousands of kilos of fish during Finland’s Independence Day season in what the team described as a “drive-in” level of production activity.

Man in glasses and white shirt sitting on a gray chair against a blue wall with Kalavapriikki logo.
Reliability, quality, maintenance support, and long-term partnership were as key reasons for choosing the BAADER technology.“, stated Jari Korhonen, CEO / Kalvapriikki Oy

By 2025,the company was ramping up production as part of a broader strategy focused onself-sufficiency and Finnish-raised fish, particularly rainbow trout andwhitefish. A key milestone came through its investment in fish farm Vääräniemi, which became a subsidiary in early 2026. This vertical integration gave Kalavapriikki greater control over the entire value chain — from fish farming to finished products on consumers’ plates

Technology has become essential to achieving that goal.

Facing labor shortages, seasonal demand fluctuations, and increasing quality expectations, Kalavapriikki invested heavily in:

Filleting

Worker in protective gear handling fish on a processing conveyor belt in a seafood factory.

Trimming

Salmon fillets on blue conveyors being processed by a trimming machine with a touch screen display.

Pin Bone Removing

Machine removing pin bones from a salmon fillet on a blue conveyor belt.

Refiner Technology

Minced meat or food paste extruding from a stainless steel industrial food processing machine.

to process towards 100% of the fish.

The BAADER filleting line replaced labor-intensive manual processing and dramatically improved throughput, responsiveness, traceability, and yield efficiency.”

Today, Kalavapriikki sees automation and advanced processing technology not only as operational advantages, but also as opportunities for Finland’s fish industry to compete internationally.

With a fully integrated supply chain, growing production capacity, and a strong commitment to domestic fish, the company is positioning itself as a leading force in the future of sustainable Finnish seafood.

Aerial view of an industrial building with parking lot, surrounded by snow and near a frozen lake.
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BAADER is the Rolls Royce of fish processing.
Jari Korhonen, CEO / Kalvapriikki Oy