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Valio has confirmed it will close the Kauhava factory it acquired from Raisio in March 2025 by the end of this year, with operations to relocate to its Joensuu site.

The company announced potential plans to close the Kauhava plant and relocate its operations in April, stating that it would enter into a six-week negotiation process over the potential closure.

In a statement shared today (4 June), Valio has revealed that a decision has now been made to transfer all production lines at the Kauhava factory to another of its Finnish sites in Joensuu. This will impact all 11 employees currently working at the factory, the dairy and food group confirmed.

Valio said the relocation aims to improve production efficiency and profitability, as well as enhancing flexibility and agility in its operations.

Juha Penttilä, Valio’s vice president of operations, commented: “From the perspective of the employees working at the factory and their families, it is always extremely unfortunate to close a plant and reduce personnel. We want to handle the negotiations well from the personnel’s point of view. We aim to offer as many people as possible jobs at Valio's other sites.”

The Kauhava factory produces fava bean products for the Härkis and Beanit brands. These brands, and the production plant, were bought by Valio as part of its $7 million acquisition of Raisio’s plant protein business earlier this year.

Penttilä said that the group plans to leverage its “long-standing expertise in producing innovative plant-based products” at the Joensuu facility.

“Production of plant-based items will also transfer to Joensuu from the Vantaa factory, which will be relocated over the next few years,” he said. “This allows us to make use of existing knowledge and equipment, and to achieve long-term synergies – including with the production currently overseen at the Kauhava plant.”

The Joensuu factory’s main output is dairy products, currently producing about a third of all Valio’s cheeses. The plant annually produces around 25 million kilograms of cheese blocks, packaged cheeses for consumers and cream cheeses. It also produces milk powders.

Around 200 members of staff currently work at the site. By the end of the year, the factory will start manufacturing cheese slices from the Vantaa factory, and later grated cheese, MiFU and Oddlygood Veggie products.