VÓNIN BUILDS ON 55 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

Everything Vónin produces must meet high standards. This is a fundamental value for us, says Hjalmar Petersen, who sees the skilled employees as the key to maintaining the quality of work and simultaneously developing equipment for the fishing and aquaculture industries.

The five founders of Vónin, established on January 16, 1969, all were fishermen Jákup Oluf á Lakjuni, Otto Dam, Janus av Reyni, Sámal G. Jacobsen, and Olaf Olsen understood the importance of quality trawl equipment. When they built a new trawl factory in Fuglafjørður in 1977, an innovative testing tank was a natural part of the investment. They wanted to develop new trawls.

– We still build on these same core values. Quality must always be maintained, and we continuously strive to improve our production, says Hjalmar Petersen, who has worked at Vónin since 1996, with the last 23 years as the CEO.

The old testing tank is history. Today, new trawls are designed using advanced computer simulations and then tested in specialized testing tanks in Hirtshals and St. John’s before being taken aboard ships. But the principle remains the same, as does the ambition to develop something new. The trawl doors, for both bottom trawling and pelagic trawling, are developed at the company Volu Ventis, owned by Vónin.

CRAFTSMANSHIP IN ORDER

Many of those in leading positions at Vónin today have as much or more seniority than the CEO. – We have many examples of young men who have taken on responsibility. Kenneth Jacobsen, Henning Nielsen, Hermann Dam, Signar Poulsen, Bogi Nón, Jógvan Jacobsen, and Hilmar Egholm are examples of young men who started at a young age and are still here, says Hjalmar Petersen.

The CEO is convinced that the strong loyalty among the skilled employees contributes to making Vónin the company it is today. Their knowledge is crucial to the company. Over the years, many skilled fishermen have also worked at Vónin, linking practical sea experience with trawl work on land. Overall, the close connections with the fishing vessels are highly valuable, something Vónin strives to maintain.

Approximately 450 people work at Vónin in the Faroe Islands, Lithuania, Norway, Greenland, Scotland, and Newfoundland. A significant part of the production takes place at the facility in Lithuania, where about 200 people work.

– Instead of buying from manufacturers in China and India, we chose to build our own factory in Lithuania, where we have trained managers and control the entire production from start to finish. This way, we ensure quality at competitive prices, says Hjalmar Petersen.

At the 10,000 square meter facility in Lithuania, nets, pelagic trawls, and all equipment for the aquaculture industry are produced, while bottom trawls are still made at the factory in Tórshavn. All maintenance work is done by Vónin’s employees in the Faroe Islands.

– We are always ready to repair what doesn’t work. It is deeply ingrained in our employees, who do everything to provide the best service to the ships, says Hjalmar Petersen. As known, Vónin was sold in 2016. But now, eight years later, it can be stated that the company has retained its roots. – We are still the same company, with the same management and the same employees. We continue to build on the same core values and work as if we own the company, says Hjalmar Petersen.

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS

Vónin has been part of the Sustainable Business initiative since its inception in 2021. Besides striving to be sustainable in all production, the company also accepts all equipment that is no longer used in the fishing and aquaculture industries. Everything is sent for recycling to companies specializing in this. In 2022 and 2023 alone, this amounted to 2300 tons of old trawls, nets, aquaculture nets, buoys, trawl doors, and other equipment.

– In this way, our customers can also prove that their old equipment is disposed of correctly, which is becoming increasingly important today, says Hjalmar Petersen.

Material collected by the Vónin group in co-operation with clients in 2023

---

Purse seine nets
and similar material

37.575 kg

sent to polivektris.lt

Fishfarming nets,
fishing nets and ropes

753.049 kg

sent to nofir.no

Trawls, buoys and
other plastics

259.760 kg

sent to plastixglobal.com

Trawl doors and
other metals

36.900 kg

sent to metallco.com
and hjhansen.dk

Environmental benefits

Of 753.049 kg recycled material according to Nofir

Effects of material recycling

5,6

kg CO2 eq/kg decrease

The reduction of climate gasses equals

38 337

passengers flying from Oslo to London

Decrease in cabon footprint is about

4 217 074

kg CO2 eq.