The history of the ice plant on Værøy

The story behind the ice plant on Værøy is, if not dramatic, rather long. As far back as 1993, the local business association began working on plans to create a common ice plant for the industries in the area. The idea was without any doubt a good one, but it would be several years before the idea came to fruition.

Steadily more demanding standards from product inspectors, regarding ice used with all fish catches led to a renewed common interest. Previously, the majority of fish handlers all had their own ”ice machines”. The problem was that these machines were very expensive to run and took up a lot of room. The ice was also of very poor quality and was produced in totally insufficient quantities. If a larger boat needed ice, the fish handlers had to produce ice for several days, and often had to pool their resources in order to supply enough ice

It was a situation that was untenable, and far from visionary.

When the local municipal authority became engaged in co-ordinating the planning stage, things moved along more swiftly – very swiftly.

Værøy Ice Plant Ltd. was formed as a company on the 4th June 1997

A decision to build the ice plant was made, and ratified. At the same time tenders for building the plant were invited.

The building process started at the end of August 1997, and the plant was ready to run at the end of September/beginning of October 1997.

The whole process had taken less than four months.

The ice making plant was located on the old ferry quayside, close to the mouth of the harbour. The quayside itself and the draught depth were suitable for servicing even the largest fishing vessels.

The need for ice increased, and when herring and halibut became important catches for the fishing industry on Værøy, the ice plant could no longer keep up with the demands of the market.

At the annual general meeting in 2001 the decision was made to increase capacity by installing an additional ice making machine. The production capacity was then doubled, making Værøy Ice Plant Ltd. the largest of it’s kind in the Lofoten area.

After the new ice making machine was taken in use at the end of August 2001, the plant largely managed to keep up with demand. Værøy Ice Plant Ltd is in the ideal location – central, out on the ocean!

Værøy Ice Plant Ltd is a locally owned limited company, with 45 large and smaller shareholders. 43 of these are locals from Værøy.