Pelle Sallin, the owner and founder of Pelle & Lisa, was informed by his neighbor that their family business, an egg packing plant in Valne, was on fire. The company merged with Norrlandsägg in 2015 and is one of the largest egg suppliers to northern Sweden. When Pelle Sallin arrived at the site, there was already significant damage to the packaging operations. Despite the efforts of the emergency services, the fire consumed the entire building. However, some important items, such as computers and papers, were saved before the fire destroyed the packing house completely.
The egg packing facility in Valne receives about 90 tons of eggs every week and packs around 300,000 eggs per day, which are then distributed to stores in northern Sweden. Now, the company will have to find other packing houses to continue supplying eggs to customers in the region. Pelle Sallin confirms that their customers have been contacted about the situation, and he also emphasizes the need to redirect their suppliers to other packing houses. Moreover, the staff will have to work on different tasks, and the company will have to explore various solutions.
Regarding future plans, Pelle Sallin states that the company will need to be rebuilt from scratch. Although it is not an easy task, he expresses optimism towards overcoming the challenges caused by the fire. When asked about the impact of the fire on Easter egg supplies in northern Sweden, he says that their largest deliveries have already been dispatched, and they had managed to send out the last batch of eggs that were packed before the incident occurred. He reassures everyone that they will work towards ensuring a continuous supply of eggs in the future.
The police have recorded the incident, and fortunately, nobody was harmed during the fire. A brief about the company Pelle & Lisa is provided in a fact-box, where it is mentioned that under the company’s umbrella brand, Norrlandsägg AB, there are 3 sub-brands: Norrlandsägg, Pelle & Lisa, and Yttertavle eggs. The company has 17 employees with a turnover of approximately SEK 100 million.
Pelle Sallin is tired, he hasn’t slept all night since the neighbor called him and told him that the family business was in flames.
– What we know is that our entire egg packing plant burned down, says a dejected Pelle Sallin, who is the owner and founder of the company Pelle & Lisa.
The egg company Pelle & Lisa merged with Norrlandsägg in 2015 and is one of the largest private suppliers of eggs to northern Sweden. In Valne, about four miles northwest of Östersund, the company has its packaging operations. 10 minutes after the neighbor called Pelle Sallin, he was at the packing house. Then there was a fire at a gate and near a container.
– We are three generations who work at the company and have been at it for 50 years, it is extremely tragic, he says.
The emergency services worked for a long time trying to extinguish the fire. When it spread to the roof structure, the effort became more difficult. In the end, there was no other choice but to save what could be saved and then let the packing house burn to the ground.
– We managed to carry out a large part of the computers, important papers and other things that we have accumulated over the years. Many things mean a lot, it’s nostalgia, says Pelle Sallin.
The eggs packed in Valne goes out to stores around northern Sweden. The packing house receives around 90 tons of eggs every week and around 300,000 eggs are packed every day. Now the company needs to find other packers instead, in order to continue delivering eggs to the stores in the north.
– We have suppliers who bring eggs to the packing house, we need to redirect them to other packing houses. We have customers who expect to receive eggs and we have now contacted them, says Pelle Sallin.
– And we have staff who will continue to work, but with other tasks. Now there are 1,000 different things to arrange.
What will happen in the future?
– The company must be rebuilt. It won’t take a quarter of an hour, but we will succeed, says Pelle Sallin.
How does the fire affect the availability of eggs for Easter in northern Sweden?
– The largest part of our deliveries have already gone out and today a last delivery went out in the morning which was packed yesterday, he says and adds:
– But life doesn’t just consist of Easter, there are days to come and we have to make sure there are eggs then too.
The police have been on the scene and documented the incident. No one was injured in the fire.