Europe’s most sustainable coffee roastery chooses KAESER KOMPRESSOREN

Production runs from Monday at 07.30 until Friday at 15:00.
3 shifts, 5 packing lines. Nothing goes to waste. Everything that can be recycled is recycled. The three KAESER compressors and their related equipment are no exception to this. Connected to the energy centre, in which 96% of the energy supplied to them can be recovered, they supply heat for the building and for drinking water.

12,000 tonnes of coffee, equating to 50 million packs, are produced by the roastery each year. After Finland, Norway is the nation with the highest coffee consumption in the world. The Johannson Kaffe brand stands for quality and flavour. “Basically, we live on it!” affirms Production Manager Bengt Ove Hagen. However, a fine flavour doesn’t just appear by itself –

the coffee is handled with great care throughout the entire value chain, from the harvesting by hand all the way to the packaging. The whole green beans for roasting originate largely from Brazil and Colombia. After harvesting, they are stored in a quarantine silo until being cleaned and then blown into a container for transportation.

“The producer countries are very proud of their coffee, and we treat it accordingly – with respect! We have a strong working relationship with our suppliers in Colombia and visit them often. This contact is important for securing the best possible raw commodities,” explains Production Manager Bengt Ove Hagen.

Whole green coffee beans, primarily imported from Brazil and Colombia.

When their lease agreement in Filipstad expired, the company worked intensively to find a solution. The key question was: Sell or invest? They settled on the latter. The days of operating in a semi-detached house were over – the time was now ripe to start a unique, eco-friendly building project. “We don’t know of anything comparable, either in terms of construction or of the environment,” says CEO Espen Gjerde.

Production Manager Bengt Ove Hagen adds: “It was a lot of fun getting involved in the construction and not least the planning of the building. It was a complex proposition. We wanted to squeeze out every last drop when it came to the possibilities for recycling and sustainability. We took this challenge very seriously and we believe we’ve succeeded.”

The striking building meets the requirements of the "passive house" standard – an impressive achievement for an industrial building. Wherever you go, the scent of wood is omnipresent. It’s the principle building material, both inside and out. The external cladding of Norwegian mineral pine from Ringsaker features 1,280 integrated solar panels. On a floor space of ​​5,000 square metres and a usable area of ​​9,000 square metres, the coffee wholesaler has succeeded in building an energy self-sufficient roastery for heating – probably the most environmentally friendly such facility in Europe. The Johannson building is BREEAM-NOR-certified for sustainability, the second-highest rating available.

Power is supplied by energy wells in the ground and the extensive use of solar cells. The plant also makes use of heat recovery and biogas. All of the coffee is roasted using biogas.

“We are unbelievably proud to be able to say that we’re probably Norway’s most eco-friendly industrial building, which is self-sufficient for heating thanks to 13 energy wells,” enthuses Technical Manager Dan Österberg, Project Manager for all machines and systems throughout the entire project. He continues, “Three KAESER compressors are connected to our energy centre, where up to 96% of the energy can be recovered. This takes care of the heating we need for our buildings and drinking water. The heat exchanger in the energy centre reduces consumption by 30%.”

The plant is controlled by the SIGMA AIR MANAGER 4.0 compressed air management system, which ensures reliable and efficient compressed air generation. Two of the KAESER compressors power the plant, whilst the third serves as backup in order to prevent downtime.

“The system features a filter solution, two dryers and an Aquamat,” explains Technical Manager Österberg. He goes on to describe how an intelligent solution with the correct capacity and strong energy management were key factors in their choice of KAESER compressors.
“We are extremely satisfied with the service from KAESER and have never suffered any shortage of either compressed air or nitrogen for our production purposes. Compressed air is no problem for us at all,” Österberg emphasises, before adding: “It’s also worth mentioning that our service contract with KAESER ensures long service life and high compressed air availability. It’s still a bit too early to say anything concrete about how far energy costs have been reduced as compared to our previous compressor systems.”