Aquaculture technology companies GroAqua and Havida have merged to form what they call a strategic alliance that aims to strengthen each company’s position in the global market.
Norway-based Havida is an aquaculture technology company that has developed a range of products like Havida Sense, which integrates technology throughout net pens to optimize and streamline Atlantic salmon production. The company has worked with multiple high-profile salmon farmers, such as Mowi, SalMar, and Cermaq.
GroAqua is also a technology company with locations in Scotland, Norway, Poland, Denmark, and the Faroe Islands. It, too, has a number of high-profile salmon-farming clients like Mowi, Salmar, Cooke Aquaculture, and more.
GroAqua has been operating for 52 years and has created remote monitoring technology for feeding and breeding Atlantic salmon.
“At GroAqua, we’ve met a strong and positive team with deep commitment to their high-quality work. They really share our vision,” Havida CEO Tomas Sund said in a release. “Partnering with GroAqua will help boost our growth – driven by an ambitious expansion strategy in the Norwegian market – and will create job opportunities along the coastline.”
The two company’s products, they said, are complementary to each other – as are each organization's “culture and ambitions.” The merged company will see the management of Havida become shareholders in GroAqua, along with the remaining leadership of GroAqua and the industrial holding company P/F Tjaldur.
“We are excited to welcome the skilled team from Havida. Our highly qualified personnel across Norway, Scotland, Poland, Denmark, and the Faroe Islands are committed to delivering unparalleled service to our clients in these regions,” GroAqua CEO Suni Justinussen said. “With our broad product portfolio and production capacity, we have positioned ourselves firmly in the international market.”
GroAqua was previously known as JT Electric and Sterner Aquatech UK but underwent a rebrand in April 2023. JT electric and Sterner Aquatech UK was itself formed when JT Electric, based in the Faroe Islands, acquired Sterner AquaTech UK in 2020 to enhance the former company’s presence in the U.K. aquaculture market.
P/F Tjaldur is an industrial holding company registered in the Faroe Islands that was established in 2004 using the funds from the sale of a shipping company that started in 1919 of the same name. Since that time, it has been involved in the Faroese salmon-farming industry and has been associated with the Bakkafrost Association.
Photo courtesy of GroAqua
