Brim hf.

Brim hf. is an Icelandic fishing and seafood-processing company headquartered in Reykjavík. The business was known as HB Grandi until 2019 and operates across the principal stages of the seafood value chain: harvesting fish at sea, processing groundfish and pelagic species, producing fishmeal and fish oil-related feed materials, drying fish, and marketing finished seafood internationally. The company’s Icelandic production footprint includes Reykjavík, Akranes, and Vopnafjörður. Its Reykjavík operation includes the Norðurgarður groundfish facility and the company’s main offices. The plant processes species such as saithe and redfish into fresh and frozen products. The Akranes operation focuses substantially on cod, including fillets, loins, and tails, while also supporting fishmeal production and capelin-roe processing. Vopnafjörður is the center of the company’s pelagic activity, handling capelin, capelin roe, herring, mackerel, and blue whiting. Brim has also operated fish-drying activities in Akranes through Laugafiskur, a business acquired and merged with HB Grandi in 2013. At sea, Brim’s fleet has included freezer trawlers, wetfish trawlers, and pelagic vessels. Wetfish trawlers supply land-based groundfish plants with cod, saithe, and redfish. Freezer vessels process catches onboard, producing formats such as whole-frozen fish, fillets, individually quick-frozen products, and headed-and-gutted fish. Pelagic vessels supply the Vopnafjörður plant and have primarily targeted capelin, herring, mackerel, and blue whiting. The company’s products are sold to customers in international seafood markets as well as domestically. Brim’s business model combines resource access, fleet operations, processing capacity, quality control, and export marketing. Its product portfolio has included fresh and frozen groundfish, frozen pelagic fish, capelin roe, dried fish products, and fishmeal products used mainly in animal feed. Its operations have been supported by certifications and origin schemes including Iceland Responsible Fisheries, Marine Stewardship Council chain-of-custody certification for selected species, and FEMAS certification at its fishmeal plants. The company received Iceland’s Presidential Export Award in 2013. It joined Festa, the Icelandic Center for Corporate Social Responsibility, in 2014, reflecting an effort to participate in Icelandic corporate-responsibility initiatives. Brim also became the subject of supply-chain controversy in 2015, when High Liner Foods and Trader Joe’s said they would stop carrying HB Grandi products because of the company’s indirect involvement in the harvesting of whale meat. In November 2022, Brim invested in Polar Seafood Denmark A/S, extending its international investment and commercial relationships. Brim remains an Icelandic publicly traded seafood company with operations spanning fishing, processing, by-product utilization, and global seafood marketing.

Brim hf. is an Icelandic fishing and fish-processing company whose modern public identity follows its earlier use of the HB Grandi name. The company’s headquarters and one of its principal production centers are in Reykjavík, where the Norðurgarður facility processes groundfish and houses the main corporate offices. Additional facilities in Akranes and Vopnafjörður give the company access to important Icelandic fishing communities and allow it to process both demersal and pelagic species. The company’s groundfish activities have centered on cod, saithe, haddock, and redfish. Reykjavík production has included fresh and frozen products, with output distributed by air, sea, and land. The Akranes plant has specialized particularly in cod, producing fillets, loins, and tails. Brim’s wetfish trawlers supply these shore-based plants, while freezer trawlers process catches at sea. Onboard processing has included grading, whole freezing, filleting, individually quick-frozen formats, and headed-and-gutted products. Species handled by the freezer fleet have included Greenland halibut, redfish, cod, haddock, saithe, silver smelt, and mackerel. Pelagic operations are concentrated in eastern and western Icelandic facilities. The Vopnafjörður plant processes capelin, capelin roe, herring, mackerel, and blue whiting. Production varies by season: capelin is generally processed early in the year, mackerel during the summer, and herring later in the year. The company has also processed capelin roe in Akranes. Its pelagic fleet has supplied the Vopnafjörður operation with catches of capelin, mackerel, herring, and blue whiting. Brim has used fish-processing by-products through fishmeal operations in Vopnafjörður and Akranes. The Vopnafjörður plant has handled pelagic species and operated using renewable electricity, while the Akranes plant has processed pelagic material and whitefish offcuts. The resulting products have been used primarily in feed, with certification supporting their suitability for applications in the feed chain. The company also expanded into dried fish through Laugafiskur, an Akranes business founded in 1988 that was acquired and merged with HB Grandi in 2013. Laugafiskur produced dried fish products from cod, haddock, and saithe, including fish heads, bones, and cutlets, with exports focused largely on Nigeria. Certification and origin assurance have been recurring elements of the company’s market position. Brim has participated in Iceland Responsible Fisheries, a scheme identifying Icelandic origin and responsible fisheries management. In 2014, HB Grandi received Marine Stewardship Council chain-of-custody certification for cod, haddock, and saithe, while redfish was under assessment at that time. Its fishmeal plants have held FEMAS certification, which addresses the safety and traceability of feed materials. The company joined Festa, Iceland’s corporate-social-responsibility center, in January 2014. The company received Iceland’s Presidential Export Award in 2013. Its international supply relationships were challenged in 2015 when High Liner Foods and Trader Joe’s said that they would stop carrying HB Grandi products because of the company’s indirect involvement in whale-meat harvesting. The episode connected Brim’s commercial identity with wider international debates about Icelandic whaling and seafood sourcing. In 2019, HB Grandi became known as Brim hf. The renamed company continued to operate as a publicly traded Icelandic seafood enterprise. In November 2022, Brim invested in Polar Seafood Denmark A/S, adding an international investment dimension to its fishing, processing, and seafood-marketing activities. Brim’s documented business remains centered on vertically integrated Icelandic seafood production and the export of products made from both groundfish and pelagic catches.

• 2022

  Investment in Polar Seafood Denmark

  [1]Brim hf.en.wikipedia.org

  Brim invested in Polar Seafood Denmark A/S.

• 2019

  Corporate name changes to Brim hf.

  [1]Brim hf.en.wikipedia.org

  The company adopted the Brim hf. name after operating for many years as HB Grandi.

• 2014

  Festa membership

  [1]Brim hf.en.wikipedia.org

  HB Grandi joined Festa, the Icelandic Center for Corporate Social Responsibility.

• 2014

  MSC chain-of-custody certification

  [1]Brim hf.en.wikipedia.org

  The company obtained MSC chain-of-custody certification for selected products from cod, haddock, and saithe.

• 2013

  Laugafiskur is acquired and merged

  [1]Brim hf.en.wikipedia.org

  HB Grandi acquired and merged Laugafiskur, an Akranes fish-drying business founded in 1988.

• 2013

  Presidential Export Award

  [1]Brim hf.en.wikipedia.org

  HB Grandi received Iceland’s Presidential Export Award.

An integrated Icelandic seafood producer combining fishing fleets, land-based and onboard processing, by-product utilization, certification, and international export marketing.

• Fresh and frozen seafood

  Groundfish products

  Brim processes cod, haddock, saithe, and redfish at Icelandic shore facilities. Product formats include fresh fillets, loins, and tails, as well as frozen fillets, whole fish, and headed-and-gutted products. Reykjavík and Akranes are important groundfish-processing locations, with wetfish trawlers supplying raw material from Icelandic waters.

• Onboard-processed seafood

  Frozen-at-sea products

  Brim’s freezer vessels process catches soon after they are taken from the sea. Depending on species and market requirements, fish can be size-graded, frozen whole, filleted, individually quick-frozen, or headed and gutted. Reported species have included Greenland halibut, redfish, cod, haddock, saithe, silver smelt, and mackerel.

• Frozen pelagic fish

  Pelagic seafood

  The company’s pelagic operations handle capelin, capelin roe, herring, mackerel, and blue whiting. Products may be prepared whole-frozen, headed and gutted, as fillets, or as flaps. Vopnafjörður is the principal pelagic-processing center, with production cycles shaped by the seasonal availability of different species.

• Dried seafood

  Dried fish

  Through Laugafiskur’s Akranes operation, incorporated into HB Grandi in 2013, the company produced dried fish products mainly from cod, with haddock and saithe also used. Product categories included dried fish heads, bones, and cutlets, and the business historically exported substantially to Nigeria.

• Feed ingredients

  Fishmeal

  Brim operates fishmeal production connected to its Icelandic fishing and processing network. Plants in Vopnafjörður and Akranes process pelagic fish and whitefish offcuts into products used mainly in animal feed. The operations have included laboratory analysis, freshness measurement, quality grouping, and FEMAS certification for feed-material safety.

• 2015

  Retailer withdrawals linked to whale-meat harvesting

  High Liner Foods and Trader Joe’s announced that they would no longer carry HB Grandi products because of the company’s indirect involvement in the harvesting of whale meat. The controversy concerned the relationship between seafood sourcing and Iceland’s whaling industry.

  Source

Read more

• 2022

  Invest in Polar Seafood DenmarkM&A

  Background

  Brim pursued an international investment connected to the Danish seafood sector.

  Action taken

  In November 2022, Brim invested in Polar Seafood Denmark A/S.

  Source

• 2019

  Rename the company as Brim hf.Strategy

  Background

  The long-established HB Grandi identity was replaced as the company developed its current corporate brand.

  Action taken

  The company became known as Brim hf.

  Aftermath

  Brim became the name used for the company’s continuing fishing, processing, and seafood-marketing operations.

  Source

• 2013

  Acquire and merge LaugafiskurM&A

  Background

  HB Grandi expanded its Akranes processing activities by acquiring Laugafiskur, a fish-drying company.

  Action taken

  Laugafiskur was acquired and merged with HB Grandi.

  Aftermath

  The transaction added dried-fish production to HB Grandi’s integrated seafood portfolio.

  Source

1. 1Brim hf.en.wikipedia.org