Norwegian sea delicacies for global markets

The Polish company Limito was established in 2004 in Gdańsk. In its relatively short history, it has quickly become one of the leading suppliers of Norwegian salmon and other fish and seafood in Poland, as well as across many other European and global markets. Piotr Sadowski reports.

Initially, Limito began its business activities as a trading company, focusing on the sale of Norwegian salmon, other fish and seafood, in Poland. Export operations were added in 2008, expanding primarily across the central and eastern European region. “However, in early March 2012, at our newly built factory in Grudziądz, we launched our first own production line,” explains Robert Wijata, CEO of Limito. “It is one of the most modern plants in Europe, using technologies from some of the world’s leading suppliers. They include Marel Food Systems for fish processing lines from raw to finished products, Innova System, the providers of intelligent production control solutions, as well as Multivac, for packaging machinery.” Strong capacity

As the company’s chief executive informs me, the launch of its own production in Grudziądz enabled Limito to significantly expand export operations. In fact, while in 2012 around 70 per cent of sales were reaching the Polish market, nowadays the situation has been completely reversed: 85 per cent of the total production is destined for various export markets. “The factory in Grudziądz is brand new and equipped with the best possible technologies, which also means we still have spare production capacity,” says Mr Wijata. “This is really important as we are expanding our portfolio of products, including organic salmon. We have secured the relevant certification to enable us to enter and expand in German retail networks, for Norwegian salmon trout, amongst others. In 2015 we are also going to significantly increase the production of smoked Norwegian salmon.”

When asked about how the company promotes itself, Mr Wijata explains that the best promotion is achieved through the excellent quality of the products offered by Limito. Some PR activities are carried out on dedicated fish and seafood Internet portals, but nevertheless the company continuously strengthens its position and increases its sales by offering the best quality products. “This means that today we are present, as a producer of our own brand, as well as distributor of private brands, in nearly all well-known retail networks in Poland and Europe,” adds Mr Wijata. “Backed by the

most important certificates, such as IFS, BRC, GlobalGap, Kosher, Halal, Organic and others, we are able to successfully enter many new export markets.” By far the company’s largest export destination is Germany, followed by countries such as Denmark, France, Italy, Czech Republic and Slovakia, as well as some other European markets. It is also worth noting that Limito, using the best Norwegian raw products, is expanding, through cooperation with local importers, to destinations such as Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Japan and other far-flung markets.

Spotlight on the factory

The manufacturing plant in Grudziądz, with an area of 6800m2, is located on a total area of 30,000m2 (with the possibility to extend the area by a further 35,000m2). This location offers a convenient position at the crossroads of major transportation routes: it takes five hours to reach the eastern border, just over four hours to reach the border between Poland and Germany, and up to seven hours to drive to the southern border. In Grudziądz, Limito has the ability to control efficiency and offer full traceability of production batches, from receiving resources, through their processing to

finished products delivered to customers. The plant is divided into the following areas: intake of raw fish, pre-treatment, smokehouse, processing of smoked fillet, processing of fresh and frozen products, and packing. The following areas are also separated out: storage areas, product shipping and technical support, power station, compressor station and transformer station. The upper floors of the factory house the office and conference rooms. The production capacity of the factory is 8000–10,000 tonnes of fish, including 1000 tonnes of fresh salmon (packaged in a protective atmosphere using MAP technology), 3000 tonnes of frozen salmon, 1000 tonnes of smoked salmon per year under the brand Limito, and another 4000 tonnes for its own brands. The plant is HACCP certified to ensure food safety by identifying hazards and estimate the scale of risk in terms of health requirements for food and the risk of hazards during all stages of production and marketing food products.

Bright future ahead

Its location in the heart of Europe means that Limito will continue to focus on the European markets, with France and Italy being particularly attractive countries to expand across, as retail prices are still comparatively high and offer good return opportunities. “The future however is also in the Asian markets, as well as in the Middle East and Africa,” predicts Mr Wijata. “With an excellent portfolio of products, the technological back-up of a modern production plant equipped with the best machinery from leading suppliers who offer the best possible servicing options, we are more than prepared to reach further than before.” n