Issue 7
July 2015
HB Grandi Newsletter
At the reception in Vopnafjörður.
RECEPTION FOR VENUS
The newest and one of the most impressive
fishing vessels in the Icelandic fleet, Venus NS
150, arrived for the first time to its home port
in Vopnafjörður on Whitsun evening on 24
May 2015. Ships’ horns were sounded when
the vessel tied up to the jetty the following
morning. The residents of Vopnafjörður
were left in no doubt that a new chapter was
beginning in the economic history of this
sparsely populated municipality.
SEAMAN’S DAY IN REYKJAVÍK:
MORE THAN TEN THOUSAND PEOPLE
VISITED HB GRANDI IN NORÐURGARÐUR
It is an annual tradition for HB Grandi to hold
a family festival at the company’s premises
at Norðurgarður on Seaman’s Day. The
Festival of the Sea, which Faxaflóahafnir
and the Reykjavík Seaman’s Day Committee
have been responsible for, is held the same
weekend. This year, it is believed that around
10–11 thousand people visited Norðurgarður,
where there was a varied programme on offer.
Sæmundur Árni Hermannsson, project
manager at HB Grandi, is pleased with the
family festival and says that it was a big
success. A wide range of entertainment was
offered, and there was face painting and
playground equipment for children of all
ages. A great variety of refreshments were
also offered, to ensure that no one would
leave hungry.
“As an example of the scope, I can say that
our guests were given almost 400 litres of
fish soup and 8,000 pieces of chocolate
cake. In addition, the same number of kleinur
and cinnamon rolls were handed out. We
barbequed 3,500 hot dogs and cooked 100 kg
of cod portions. We also gave out 2,500 packs
of cards and a similar number of balloons,” said
Sæmundur Árni, who was deservedly pleased
with the day.
To mark the occasion of Venus’ homecoming, a special reception was held for
the residents of Vopnafjarðarhreppur and
other guests on Wednesday, 27 May. It is
estimated that around 400 people attended
the welcoming reception. Vilhjálmur
Vilhjálmsson, CEO of HB Grandi, welcomed
the guests. Others who spoke were Sigurður
Ingi Jóhannsson, Minister of Fisheries; Ólafur
Áki Ragnarsson, head of the local authorities;
Birna Loftsdóttir, who named the vessel; and
Stefán Már Gunnlaugsson, the parish priest
in Hofsprestakalli parish. Among the guests
were two of the constituency’s members of
parliament, i.e. Þórunn Egilsdóttir and Kristján
L Möller.
After the ceremony alongside the vessel,
guests were invited on-board to examine the
ship. In addition, some of the guests visited
the pelagic and the fishmeal and oil factory
that HB Grandi has built up in Vopnafjörður.
TRAINING COURSE FOR
SUMMER REPLACEMENTS
AND NEW RECRUITS
CLEANLINESS, QUALITY
AND SAFETY FIRST
In past years, HB Grandi has customarily held
a training course for all summer replacement
staff and new recruits in fish processing. The
courses focus on cleanliness, quality and
safety issues.
The courses, lasting 8 classroom hours, are
held in co-operation with the Icelandic College
of Fisheries. The number attending each
course is generally around 10 to 15 people.
Part of the summer replacements at HB Grandi in Reykjavík.
ALMOST 200 WORKING AS SUMMER REPLACEMENTS
This summer, a total of 192 people have
been recruited as summer replacements at
HB Grandi and its subsidiaries in Reykjavík,
Akranes and Vopnafjörður. These are for
the most part students who fill in for the
permanent employees who are taking their
summer vacation. Women form the majority
of these summer replacements. Around 30
people are trying out work in this sector for
the first time.
According to Kristín Helga Waage Knútsdóttir
in HB Grandi’s Human Resources Department,
most are recruited for summer jobs in Akranes,
or a total of 73.
The division of summer replacement staff
according to operating unit is as follows:
In the pelagic fish processing factory in
Vopnafjörður, where the mackerel and
herring season has just begun, a total of 64
have been recruited for summer replacement.
Ten of these are new recruits.
Part of the summer replacements at Vignir G. Jónsson.
At the HB Grandi fish processing plant in
Akranes, the number is 44, the majority
of whom are women. 11 have not come as
summer replacements before.
At Vignir G Jónsson hf., 17 students have been
employed as summer replacements, all of
whom have worked there previously.
An equal number work as summer
replacements for HB Grandi´s fish drying and
Norðanfiskur ehf., or 6 in each company. There
are 3 new recruits in both these units.
In the largest operating unit, HB Grandi’s
fish processing plant at Norðurgarður in
Rekjavík, 52 summer replacements have been
recruited. Gender proportions in this case
are equal. Of these, there are 5 who have not
worked for the company before.
Finally, 3 summer replacements have been
employed in the offices in Reykjavík.
The courses are divided into two parts,
each part being 4 hours of lessons and
instructions. The first part, taught by Nanna
Bára Maríasdóttir, covers cleanliness and
quality issues.
Addressed are cleanliness and cleaning,
bacteria growth and personal cleanliness, and
the company’s work rules and procedures
are discussed. In addition, the importance of
each employee within the whole company and
the responsibility of each and every person is
highlighted.
Safety issues, the second part of the course,
are an extremely important matter and are
taught by Ásdís Pálsdóttir.
A review is made of how to handle machines
and equipment. Employment legislation is
covered, as are work rules regarding hazardous
equipment and the circumstances that harm
the employee’s health if care is not taken.
New recruits are shown safety shields and
the location of emergency buttons, etc. The
importance of every employee’s responsibility
for their work is covered, as is the importance
of following work and safety rules in all
respects. Every effort is made to raise
awareness of stewardship and the realisation
of the importance of each employee in the
production process.
ARNDÍS ÓSK VALDIMARSDÓTTIR, AKRANES:
FORMER UNION REPRESENTATIVE WORKING AS
A SUMMER REPLACEMENT
One of the people working as a summer
replacement employee at Vignir G Jónsson
hf., a subsidiary of HB Grandi, is Arndís Ósk
Valdimarssdóttir. Despite being a temporary
summer replacement employee, Arndís Ósk
is extremely familiar with the operation, as
before she decided to attend university, she
was a permanent employee in the company
as of 2009.
“I began studying to be a social worker two
years ago, and to begin with, I worked at Vignir
G. Jónsson hf. part-time alongside my studies.
During my second year at university, however,
I concentrated wholly on my studies and my
family and did not start to work again until this
summer and then as a summer replacement,”
says Arndís Ósk. She and her husband have
two sons, aged five and eight, so it must have
been hard to attend the university in Reykjavík
as well as taking on shifts.
“It was just one of those things where one
tried to make things work out. It is less of a
problem at the moment even if I am working
full-time this summer. Most families are in the
same position,” says Arndís Ósk, who says she
has always enjoyed working for the company.
“Before I left to study, I was the union representative for the employees. This has been
an extremely popular place to work in and the
owners have been excellent. I can’t see that
there has been any changes to that with HB
Grandi coming in as owner,” says Arndís Ósk.
TÓMAS GUÐJÓNSSON, VOPNAFJÖRÐUR:
ENJOYABLE AND VARIED TASKS
“The work is enjoyable and varied, and one
never knows beforehand what the tasks of
the day will be. The mackerel season is just
about to start, and we are just waiting for
the work to begin,” says Tómas Guðjónsson in
Vopnafjörður.
Tómas is 19 years old, but this is, never-theless,
his sixth season in the pelagic fish processing
plant of HB Grandi in the village. He will be
working on 12-hour shifts, both at night and
during the day. Those who are under the age
of 18, however, may not work for longer than
six consecutive hours at a time.
“The good thing about it is that all the young
people in Vopnafjörður who have reached a
certain age are able to get work at HB Grandi
despite the huge technological advances that
have been made in the processing equipment.
The technology has meant that there are
fewer people in processing than before, when
it was quite common for the friends of young
people from Vopnafjörður, who were studying
in secondary schools in Laugar and Akureyri,
to get a summer job here,” says Tómas, who
plans to begin studying Political and Business
Administration at the University of Iceland
this autumn.
Photo: from Tómas
ÓLÖF RAGNA SIGURÐARDÓTTIR, REYKJAVÍK:
SIXTH SUMMER WORKING AT HB GRANDI
“I have done most of the jobs suitable for
women here in Norðurgarður and quite like
working here. Otherwise, I definitely would
have looked for something else,” says” says
Ólöf Ragna Sigurðardóttir, who is working as
a summer replacement in quality control this
summer.
Ólöf was first recruited to HB Grandi in the
summer of 2010, and this is, therefore, the
sixth year that she will be working as a summer
replacement in the fish processing plant
at Norðurgarður. As a matter of fact, Ólöf
worked for the company after completing, in
three and a half years, her degree from FÁ in
December 2013 and was with the company to
August 2014.
“I am studying business administration at
Reykjavík University and have completed
one year of three toward a BS degree. My
work experience here will undoubtedly be
extremely useful if I then decide to embark
on further studies in fisheries-related
business administration,” says Ólöf Ragna
Sigurðardóttir.
Photos on this page: Þröstur Njálsson
DIVING AWOKE A PASSION FOR PHOTOGRAPHY
- says Þröstur Njálsson, crewmember on the vessel Ásbjörn RE, who is holding the exhibition “Bræla” (rough seas) at the Reykjavík Maritime Museum.
The photographic exhibition “Bræla” is
currently in the Hornsílið exhibition room
in Víkin Maritime Museum in Reykjavík.
The exhibition consists of 19 photographs
by Þröstur Njálsson, a crewmember of the
wetfish trawler Ásbjörn RE. The exhibition
was formally opened on Saturday, June 2015 in
connection with the 2015 Festival of the Sea.
It was Brynjólfur Eyjólfsson, HB Grandi’s
Marketing Manager, who opened the
exhibition, stating on the occasion that:
“One can say that here, we can see seamanship
through the eyes of a fisherman. Sailors often
work under difficult circumstances, and their
work involves a great deal more than just
getting the fish out of the sea. Their work is
the first link in the chain in the production of
quality products that consumers all over the
world are able to enjoy.
Guðbrandur Benediktsson, the curator, next
thanked all those involved in setting up the
exhibition and thanked HB Grandi for excellent
collaboration in recent years.
But who is this Þröstur Njálsson? This, he
responds to in a few words.
“I am from Hafnarfjörður and grew up in
Breiðvangur in the north part of town. From
there, I moved to Hvammahverfi in the same
town. My father, Njáll Jóhannesson, was a
crewmember on the freezer trawler Venus HF,
and that was where I got my first placement
at sea, in 2003, when I was 23 years old,” says
Þröstur, who has always been happy with his
decision to become a sailor.
“I found very quickly that being a sailor
suited me very well, and now I feel as though
I have always lived at sea. What delighted
me immediately was how enjoyable the
environment was and how completely different
from what I was used to. I liked the storms and
the huge contrast, such as when fair weather
takes over from a good storm.”
Three years ago, Þröstur decided to try diving
for the first time.
“I went on a diving course and then actively
started to dive in Þingvalla lake and then in the
sea near Reykjavík. I obtained several diving
certificates and then went to Birgir Skúlason to
learn free-diving, which I still do. I had had some
interest in photography, but soon after I started
diving, I became passionately interested in
underwater photography. This interest led me
to invest in proper photographic equipment,
and the images I captured underwater caused
me to feel passionate about photography.
Although being a sailor can be a dangerous
job, and the same in fact applies to diving, I
have never experienced any life-threatening
situation. I have always taken great care when
diving, both in fresh water and in the sea, and
have always been careful not to do more than
my capabilities have allowed.”
“The images are mostly in black and white,
although six are colour prints,” says Þröstur,
who also states that this exhibition would not
have been held if the support of HB Grandi had
not been so readily at hand.
The photographic exhibition “Bræla” will
remain open to 20 September 2015.
A “Selfie” of Þröstur.
Þröstur began working on-board the wetfish
trawler Ásbjörn two years ago, and he says that
was probably one of the best things that could
have happened to him.
“There, I am in the company of a great crew
and great officers,” says Þröstur.
THE EXHIBITION HAS BEEN A SUCCESS
As regards the photographic exhibition “Bræla”,
Þröstur says that it has been a resounding
success. The photos were taken over the past
two years. The common thread running through
all of them is that they depict the life on-board
Ásbjörn. Bræla is the underlying tone, as the
name of the exhibition suggests.
Photo taken by Þröstur while diving.
ÞÚFA HB GRANDI NEWSLETTER
Guarantor: Vilhjálmur Vilhjálmsson
Editor: Eiríkur St. Eiríksson
Design/Layout: Fanney Þórðardóttir
E-mail: [email protected]
Photos: Kristján Maack