Adven continues cooling of Valio’s products in Lapinlahti

Valio’s Lapinlahti factory is one of Valio’s largest sites, and it produces Finnish delicacy cheeses as well as milk and whey-based powder products for the domestic market and export. Before distribution, the products are stored in cold rooms totaling 4500 square meters.

Regardless of the outdoor temperature, 25 gigawatt-hours of 1.5-degree ice water and glycol energy, as well as an 8-megawatt energy center, are needed to cool the cold rooms and maintain the cold chain all year round. If a link in cooling production fails, it always means a big waste.

“Without cooling energy, milk cannot be processed into high-quality products,” says Marko Ollikainen, Technical Manager at Valio’s Lapinlahti factory.

The agreement between Adven and Valio on refrigeration production in Lapinlahti dates to 2003, and during the partnership of more than a quarter of a century, cooling capacity has been increased as the dairy’s production capacity has increased. The Lapinlahti cold agreement was also Adven’s first major cold agreement, and since then several new ones have been added for different food industry players.

Today, the cold and heat production service in Lapinlahti is provided by Adven’s team of three experts, supported by the Production Manager. A prerequisite for effective cooperation is that the partner delivers what it has promised and develops the service together with the customer, bringing their own expertise with them.

“It is great that we can continue to develop the energy service in Lapinlahti. We need to be the best service provider repeatedly and competitive in the eyes of the customer – to that we stick here as well,” says Account Manager Jari Ojala from Adven.

The recent investment decision brought good news to Lapinlahti: the approximately 2,000 square meter premises required by the new cheese production line are already under construction in the factory area. This expansion needs its share of cold production, and the current capacity is expected to cover this need as well.

Adven’s and Valio’s energy cooperation in Lapinlahti is a long-term cooperation also in terms of thermal energy supply. Approximately 130 gigawatt hours of process steam and property heating are produced annually in the bio boiler plant.

In addition to the Lapinlahti plant, Adven produces energy for Valio’s seven other factories in Finland.

More info on:

Adven, Jari Ojala, tel. +358 50 452 5664, jari.ojala@adven.com

Valio, Peter Fabritius, interview and call requests via Valio Mediadesk, tel. 010 381 2118 or mediadesk@valio.fi

Valio

Valio is a Finnish food company founded in 1905. Valio is owned by 3,400 Finnish dairy farmers through cooperatives. We pay out our operating profit to the dairy farms. The Valio brand is a promise of first-class quality and responsibility. Valio’s sales in 2023 were EUR 2,3 billion.

We are Finland’s biggest food exporter and a trailblazer for the whole food industry. We export our consumer and industrial products to approximately 50 countries. We are an owner in Oddlygood, a company focusing on plant-based products. Our Valio Aimo® wholesale business serves hotels, restaurants and catering services, bakeries, and customers in the public sector and food industry all around Finland.​ Suomen Lantakaasu Oy, a joint venture we established with energy company St1, is boosting the circular economy by producing biogas from dairy farm manure. In all, we employ 4,200 people.

Our goal is to cut the carbon footprint of milk to zero by 2035. We are reducing emissions, growing carbon sinks and creating circular economy solutions. We are improving animal welfare, and we are working to increase biodiversity.

We bring taste experiences, variety and joy to the dining table and professional kitchens. At the same time, we are building wellbeing and making sure that we will have locally produced food also in the future. Innovativeness and drive for renewal have brought us at Valio together for over a hundred years − ever since Nobel laureate A.I. Virtanen headed Valio’s product development. Our mission is to make life better.