BAADER finalizes acquisition of majority stake in Skaginn 3X

BAADER’s acquisition of a majority share in Skaginn 3X has closed, the seafood and processing equipment manufacturer announced on 24 February.

Lübeck, Germany-based BAADER and Akranes, Iceland-headquartered Skaginn 3X first announced the acquisition on 29 October, 2020. In a press release, the companies said they are "committed to their site locations" and did not intend to carry out any workforce reductions "as existing capacities will continue to be needed to support future growth."

The move is intended to extend “the scope of superior solutions over the entire processing line, bringing the long-standing engineering practices of BAADER together with the innovative cooling, freezing, and processing expertise of Skaginn 3X,” the companies said.

The companies now have entered an integration phase, beginning with the merging of the sales forces of the two companies.

“Once operational, the joint sales organization will coordinate all global sales activities for all Skaginn 3X and BAADER products,” the firms said.

During the early phases of integration, current sales contracts will remain in place as a means to uphold familiarity as “BAADER and Skaginn 3X will work towards establishing a single face to the customer.”

“Our overall mission is to be the one go-to partner for customers within the fish industry, as we have done for over 100 years. Our aim is to provide and service innovative stand-alone equipment and system solutions within all major segments of fish that are best-in-class, based on strong engineering and deep-rooted knowledge of the industry,” BAADER Executive Chairwoman Petra Baader said.

Skaginn 3X CEO Ingólfur Árnason said he is pleased with the execution of the transaction.

"Our focus for the past 40 years has always been on developing innovative products for the industry. With the global BAADER distribution network, Skaginn 3X can continue to focus on innovation and fully utilize the manufacturing capabilities in Iceland to serve the new BAADER sales and service network,” Árnason said.  

Once Skaginn 3X and BAADER are fully integrated, BAADER Managing Director Robert Focke said customers will reap the benefits.

“Together, we will not only strengthen our competencies regarding all fish species, but we will also be able to tune the resource processability: through the Skaginn 3X sub-chilling technology, it will be possible to process fish even more precisely while conserving resources and maintaining quality,” Focke said.

The board of Skaginn 3X is currently comprised of ISEA Partners CEO Jeffrey Davis, as chairman; BAADER Executive Chairwoman Petra Baader; BAADER Managing Director Robert Focke; Skaginn 3X Executive Una Lovísa Ingólfsdóttir; and Skaginn 3X CEO Ingólfur Árnason.