The matter in summary: The construction of a new slaughterhouse in Gudbrandsdalen is starting now, almost five years after Nortura closed down its slaughterhouse in the region. Gudbrandsdal Slakteri AS, led by Terje Wester, will be built at Sandbumoen in Sel municipality. This is one of the biggest business ventures in Nord-Gudbrandsdalen for a long time. The main investor is the Rogaland company Jæder Ådne Espeland AS, which has invested NOK 300 million in the project. Construction will start in August 2025. The slaughterhouse will create approximately 60 new jobs in the municipality. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – Now there will be a new, modern slaughterhouse here, which will be a great opportunity for agriculture in the region. That’s what Terje Wester, general manager of Gudbrandsdal slaughterhouse AS, says. On Wednesday it was announced – Gudbrandsdal Slaughterhouse will become a reality. The premises will be located at Sandbumoen in Sel municipality and the construction process will start continuously. This will be one of the biggest business ventures in Nord-Gudbrandsdalen for a long time. It is on this plot of land in Sel municipality that the new slaughterhouse will be located. Construction will start in August, and the goal is for operations to begin in the fall of 2025. Photo: Even Lusæter – Krevende The road to get here has been extensive. Ever since the Nortura cooperative closed its slaughterhouse in Gudbrandsdalen in 2019, there have been many expectations surrounding the plans for a new slaughterhouse. That things are finally in place is a relief for Wester. – After a long time of planning and waiting, we are now announcing that construction will now begin. It has been a demanding period in terms of both price developments and uncertainty, he says. In 2019, the entire village demonstrated when 78 people lost their jobs. Read more about it here: Change of investors Back in 2021, Gudbrandsdal Slakteri AS announced that they were going to start a new slaughterhouse with, among other things, Grillstad. This collaboration did not materialize because Grillstad withdrew in 2023 and the building plans were put on hold. Now the Rogaland company Jæder Ådne Espeland AS is the main investor. The private company produces meat products for the large-scale construction industry and has a turnover of approx. NOK 1 billion. Jæder has initially invested NOK 300 million in the project. – Grillstad was supposed to be on the ownership side, and then they withdrew. What makes you now tackle this on your own? – Because we believe in it. This region has enormously long traditions of agriculture. And then we have faith in Norwegian agriculture. The most important way to show it is that we bet and invest, says Guro Espeland, general manager of Jæder. Here is an illustration of the new facility to be built. Note that this illustration may differ from the actual built building. Photo: Gudbrandsdal Slakteri – We will start construction now in August. And then the goal is for operations to be underway in early autumn 2025, says Espeland. New jobs In addition to Jæren, Vågå, Sel, Lom and Nord-Fron municipalities have contributed financially. – We believe that getting a local slaughterhouse back creates more faith in the future, more desire to invest and more pride in Gudbrandsdalen, says Terje Wester. – Gudbrandsdalen is happy with co-operative organisation. That Jæder is behind it, do you think it has something to say for the local involvement? – No I do not think so. We want to be a good slaughterhouse for all local farmers. And we know that there is strong competition. We have to earn the slaughter. We must provide top service. We offer short inbound transport, good animal welfare, modern facilities, and we must be competitive on price, says Wester. The slaughterhouse will be able to open up new jobs in the municipality. According to Guro Espeland, there will be approximately 60 jobs. Nortura faced huge protests when they put forward a proposal to close the cornerstone company at Otta in Gudbrandsdalen. Here from the demonstration in 2019. Photo: Even Lusæter / news One of those who was at Sandbumoen on Wednesday was Kjetil Eide. He leads the association Kua mi pår dyere alder, which fought to preserve the slaughterhouse of Nortura in Otta in 2019. – This is one of the biggest places I have been involved in. It is a big day for Oppdal and Gudbrandsdalen. The workplace is one thing, animal welfare is another. A large area now has a much steeper path for the animals, says Eide. Published 24/07/2024, at 18.40 Updated 24.07.2024, at 20.17
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Construction of new slaughterhouse starts in Sel in Gudbrandsdalen several years after Nortura pulled out – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
