Hakafood, Finland
Refrigeration technology enabling growth – Epta supports Hakafood’s expansion
Hakafood, a manufacturer of confectionery and bakery products, has grown strongly in recent years. This success created a need to increase production capacity, leading to a major bakery expansion project. Epta was responsible for the refrigeration systems as a whole, ensuring that the new factory extension will serve Hakafood’s operations reliably and energy-efficiently well into the future.
Lack of space as a barrier to growth
At Hakafood’s bakery in Valkeakoski, both sweet and savory confectionery products are produced as subcontracting work for nationwide food brands. The company operates on a made-to-order basis, which requires flexible capacity and uninterrupted, precise cold chain management. In recent years, Hakafood’s volumes have steadily increased, and the factory has already been expanded twice.
As production volumes continued to grow, the capacity of the existing facilities was eventually reached. New customers and increasing order volumes from existing clients required more space — something no longer available within the old premises.
– The factory expansion was primarily decided because the facilities had simply become too small. We were unable to offer customers additional capacity or grow within the existing framework, says Hakafood CEO Marko Lehojärvi.
With the newly completed extension, Hakafood can significantly increase its production. Operating in two shifts, turnover is expected to grow from approximately €11 million to €16 million. If needed, production can scale to three shifts, raising revenue potential to over €22 million. The expansion also enabled streamlining of the entire production process: modern technology ensures consistent quality and controlled energy costs as volumes increase.
Precise project management enabled continuous production
For Epta, the Hakafood project represented familiar core competence, but the operating environment set high demands. The bakery’s production ran at full capacity throughout the expansion, requiring exceptional precision from installation teams. Running production and construction in parallel demanded seamless scheduling and close coordination among dozens of different stakeholders.
– Technically, the project represented Epta’s basic competence, which we have implemented many times before. The challenge—and what made it interesting—was the environment: we were working in an active production facility where there was no margin for error, explains Sami Katajisto, Project Manager for refrigeration contracting at Epta
The project began with preliminary planning in early 2024, and the contract was signed in January 2025. The entire project took about two years. From Hakafood’s perspective, Epta’s strengths were particularly evident in project management and reliability.
– The construction project was challenging, and with many partners we encountered scheduling issues—but not with Epta. On their part, everything worked exactly as agreed, Lehojärvi praises.
Modern refrigeration maximizes energy efficiency
Epta delivered a comprehensive refrigeration solution for the expansion. The site was equipped with two large refrigeration units, one of which is dedicated especially to demanding freezing processes. In total, around 15 different refrigerated spaces were implemented at the factory, including blast freezers, cooling units, and storage facilities for different stages of production.
Sustainability and energy efficiency are at the core of the solution. The refrigeration units are equipped with heat recovery systems that capture waste heat generated during the process and reuse it for heating the building and producing domestic hot water.
– Coordinating the different aspects of the project added just the right level of challenge. Although the technology is familiar, large-scale projects always require the ability to respond to changing situations. Precision at every stage of execution ensures that the result optimally supports the factory’s operations, says Panu Lammi, Sales Manager for refrigeration contracting at Epta.
A partner that provides peace of mind
For Hakafood, the most important benefit of the collaboration was reliability. In food production, refrigeration systems must operate flawlessly so the company can fully focus on its core business. Epta’s overall responsibility ensured that the project progressed according to plan—from preliminary design to commissioning.
Lehojärvi is very satisfied with the outcome and the smooth cooperation:
– I highly recommend Epta. Their expertise, project management, and adherence to schedules were excellent. We have nothing negative to say about the collaboration—everything worked exactly as it should.
