Bama Fresh Cuts, Vantaa
The installation was carried out by Viessmann Refrigeration Solutions prior to the signing of the Joint Venture with Epta in October 2024
New production facility supports the growth of Bama Fresh Cuts
Bama Fresh Cuts Oy has a mission to create green, sustainable growth with fresh and healthy products. Bama’s ready-cut salads and ready meals are supplied to food retail and food service in the Nordic countries and Baltics. Bama’s new, over 6000 m2 production facility was opened in Vantaa Finland at the end of year 2022. SRV was responsible for the building of the premises and Viessmann Kylmäjärjestelmät delivered the refrigeration technology.
In addition to the Vantaa facility Bama has production facilities also in Helsingborg and Lindesberg in Sweden. In Vantaa and Helsingborg the production concentrates on ready-cut and pre-washed salads, fruits and vegetables. In Lindesberg they produce vegetable based ready meals and mealtime solutions. In total, these three production facilities employ approximately 400 people, of which about 100 work in Vantaa.
– Our old production facility turned out to be too small. Our aim is to grow so we decided to build a new production facility here in Vantaa that is three times bigger than before. The new production facility meets our requirements today and our future growth targets too, says Pekka Vanhakylä, Site Manager of Vantaa production facility.
Viessmann Kylmäjärjestelmät and SRV worked closely together
The new production facility was built as a turnkey project by SRV. Viessmann Kylmäjärjestelmät delivered the entire refrigeration and heating system of the facility. There is a total of 900 kilowatts of refrigeration technology and 500 kilowatts of heat pump technology in the building.
– This is a solution involving an artificial load, which allows us to benefit from outdoor air energy for heating purposes. Such projects are interesting and challenging. We collaborate with the entire HVAC and construction sector. Combining all the different areas was the biggest challenge in this case, tells Panu Lammi, Manager Refrigeration Solutions at Viessmann Kylmäjärjestelmät
The new production facility includes both production and storage space. All production and storage areas are cold and the temperature is approximately +4°C. The only warm areas are offices and technical rooms. The large-scale production facility was a remarkable investment in the future for Bama.
– The investment was very significant considering our turnover, but we wanted to invest in the future and growth, Vanhakylä emphasises.
– Viessmann Kylmäjärjestelmät is market leader in commercial refrigeration systems. They include integrated systems that provide cooling and heating for the building. Production facilities and cold storage rooms are a natural extension to this. Bama project was even in our scale a significant one and it was very interesting to collaborate on it with SRV, says Lammi happily.
“The implementation was extremely successful in the big picture”
Even though the construction of the new production facility happened in a very challenging period of time due to factors like the covid-19 pandemic, the project still managed to stay on the agreed schedule. Production started in the new facilities slightly ahead of the original schedule.
– The timing was challenging, and delivery times were long. However, with collaboration and working together, we managed very well. It was crucial that everything was completed on time, Lammi says.
"The implementation was extremely successful in the big picture. It was very important for our business that the schedule was met and even better than expected." -Pekka Vanhakylä // Site Manager, Bama Fresh Cuts Oy
