July marks 115 year since family-owned coffee roaster Löfbergs was founded in Sweden in 1906. To commemorate it, Löfbergs has opened a state-of-the-art whole bean roastery in Karlstad, Sweden.
Katherine Löfberg, Chair of the Board of Löfbergs says, “We have invested US$233 million (SEK 200 million), which is the largest investment in the history of the company. It is certainly a milestone, and it is very special for us have the inauguration 115 years to the day after my great-grandfather founded Löfbergs.”
Beginning expansion across Sweden in the 1950s to 1960s, Löfbergs began exporting coffee in 1993.
According to Löfbergs, this new roastery is designed to meet an increasing market demand for whole beans, while opening new opportunities that Löfbergs previous roasting facility could not meet. Now, Löfbergs has two roasters located in Karlstad, one specialising in whole beans and the other in ground coffee.
Fredrik Nilsson, Acting CEO of Löfbergs says, “It gives us unique possibilities to meet our customers’ needs. It is an investment in the future that strengthens us in Sweden as well as internationally and that reflects our ambition to continue to grow and to be a reliable and leading supplier, employer and partner for a long time to come.”
The new roastery took two years to build, and is directly linked to Löfbergs central warehouse in Välsviken, Karlstad, which was built in 2016. With a capacity of roughly 9,071,847 kilograms annually, Löfbergs says it is prepared to double production when needed in the future.
“Building a new roastery from the ground made it possible for us to choose the best and most modern technology and solutions available,” says Nilsson.
“In order to be in full control and benefit from our co-workers’ unique knowledge and experiences, we have been responsible for all planning and project management ourselves. The result is the most modern coffee roastery in Europe.”
Löfbergs sources and selects its coffee beans from sustainably certified farms. The beans then undergo a slow-roast method that sees them cooked at a lower temperature for a longer length of time.
Energy at the new roastery is sourced from renewable energies with the beans also packed in sustainable packaging. With an Environmental Building Silver certification, Löfbergs new roastery is an environmentally friendly facility.
“All this means that we can meet our customers’ high demands regarding flavour, quality and sustainability,” says Nilsson.
Inauguration of the new roastery was done digitally due to COVID-19 and can be watched here.
