Akranes, Iceland-based seafood processing equipment manufacturer Skaginn 3X has filed for insolvency.
BAADER, which invested in Skaginn 3X in 2020 and purchased it outright in 2022, announced the move on 4 July, saying it was unable to secure a financial path forward for its subsidiary, despite intensive restructuring efforts.
“In the face of growing economic challenges, including high interest rates and inflationary pressures, Skaginn 3X has endeavored to restructure its operations and secure new investments,” BAADER said in a press release. “Despite the positive outcomes from strategic consolidations in Akranes and Reykjavík and extensive negotiations with financing partners, external investors, and other stakeholders, a viable financial arrangement could not be finalized. Therefore, Skaginn 3X management had to make the tough decision to proceed with insolvency filings.”
The Luebeck, Germany-headquartered food processing solutions group said the closure is expected to result in 128 people losing their jobs. The company was one of the largest employers in the town of Akranes.
“Until the last minute, Skaginn 3X management had confidence in finding a solution with all stakeholders ensuring the continuation of the operations and regrets that the current development left no other choice but to file for insolvency,” BAADER said.
Founded in 2017, Skaginn 3X contributed several innovations to the seafood processing field, including its ValuePump and its Sub-Chilling system, which Mowi installed at its Herøy plant in 2020.
Skaginn 3X has seen its balance sheet shrink significantly in recent years, partly as a result of the loss of its business in Russia, where it invested as large-scale fleet and plant modernization efforts got underway but which became a more difficult place to work following global sanctions placed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
Skaginn 3X’s Ísafjörður office was closed in August 2023, with 27 people losing their jobs, and in the previous summer, the company laid off staff at its Ísafjörður, Akranes, and Reykjavík offices.
