The case in summary Thousands of tonnes of salmon skin are left over when the farming industry has sold its salmon. A company in Trondheim, Norsk Fjordskinn, uses this to make exclusive products such as clothing and furniture. Norsk Fjordskinn has developed a process for tanning salmon skin, which makes it more durable than many other leather products on the market. In Norway, 16,000 tonnes of fish skin is produced each year, which is often sold cheaply to companies that make biofuel, animal feed and to the food industry. Norsk Fjordskinn sees a growing market for leather products. Norsk Fjordskinn has developed tanning methods that are adapted to today’s requirements, and that do not use tanning agents that cause allergies or are full of poison. They have also developed new processes for tanning in collaboration with NTNU and Sintef. The goal for Norsk Fjordskinn is to produce 600,000 skins by 2025-2026. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Petter Brathaug Olsen is a marine biologist and expert in tanning. In this drum, the skin of the salmon is broken down until it is just a flake of collagen, which is the substance skin is made of. Photo: Jørgen Pettersen / news Down in a basement in the center of Trondheim, a drum spins round and round. Inside it, dozens of salmon skins float in a bag that removes fat and breaks down the cells in the skin. The smooth and chewy mass inside will eventually become an exclusive product that can be sold for hundreds of kroner. – It looks a bit like snakeskin. It is slightly thinner and narrower than normal leather, says Petter Brathaug Olsen in Norsk Fjordskinn. He is technical manager and marine biologist and works on developing the tanning of the skins. – Compared to the skins we see today, which are often so cost-cut that they can hardly be called leather, the salmon skin is far more superior and durable, says Olsen. Currently, the company manages to make 40 skins a week in this drum. The aim is to increase production considerably within a short time. Photo: Jørgen Pettersen / news Using the remains for the farming industry Managing director of Norsk Fjordskinn, Marianne Mørk, has already used salmon skin as a clothing designer. Photo: Jørgen Pettersen / news In Norway, 16,000 tonnes of fish skin are made each year. The skins are considered a residual raw material that is left over. It is therefore sold cheaply to companies that make biofuel, animal feed and to the food industry. But with a little processing, it can be turned into jackets, bags and upholstery, among other things. – The market for leather is growing. Salmon skin is a fairly little used material. But we have found product groups where we can compete with other groups of leather, says general manager Marianne Mørk of Norsk Fjordskinn. She actually started out as a clothing designer who wanted to make clothes with leather from the Nordic nature. Mørck sewed clothes from both reindeer and goat skins. Then she bought salmon skin from Iceland and sewed a skirt. – I think it was like walking across the stream for water. That’s why I got support to do a study to investigate the possibility of creating a tannery along the coast of Møre and Romsdal and Trøndelag, says Mørck. The salmon skins can be dyed and used as detail elements in furniture or clothing. Photo: Jørgen Pettersen / news Developing old tradition Tanning is an old trade that has traditionally taken a long time. Then modern industry has made the process faster and faster. It is important that the skins used come from salmon that have not suffered damage to the skin from salmon lice or wounds from lice treatment. Photo: Jørgen Pettersen / news At the same time, it is a process that creates a lot of emissions and can use chemicals that are not necessarily so good for nature. – We do not want to use tanning agents that cause allergies or are full of poison. So we have developed tanning methods that are adapted to today’s requirements, says Mørck. Together with NTNU and Sintef, they have developed completely new processes and technologies for tanning. – It saves us money and is sustainable. The salmon skin should last a long time, but we also have to consider that it can end up in nature. Then it will just rot away, says Olsen. International market Down in the laboratory in the basement in central Trondheim, they today manage to make around 40 skins a week. The goal is now to find new premises to increase production considerably. – Our goal is that in 2025-2026 we will produce 600,000 skins. That is quite a lot, says Mørck. Rail can, among other things, be used as details on garments or furniture. Photo: Jørgen Pettersen / news
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Norsk Fjordskinn makes salmon skin for the textile industry – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
