Draft:Nõo Meat Factory

Nõo Meat Factory (Nõo Lihatööstus) is the largest meat manufacturer based on Estonian capital, which employs nearly 250 people. Thus, Nõo Meat Factory is among the most important employers in Southern Estonia. The company’s brand stores are located in Nõo and Tartu.

The product range of Nõo Lihatööstus includes over 600 meat products: raw meat, minced meats, wieners and sausages, hams and roulades, pâtés, snacks and various seasonal products that are made in Nõo near the city of Tartu. Nõo products are made from fresh chilled Estonian raw materials. Apart from the Estonian market company exports its products to Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, and elsewhere. Nõo Lihatööstus is a member of the Estonian Food Industry Association.

Nõo Lihatööstus is a family business and a winner of various Estonian and international product and business awards. Among others, Nõo Lihatööstus earned the Family Business of the Year award from EAS, the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Estonian Employers’ Confederation.

History
Nõo Lihatööstus was founded as a family business in 1992 on the premises of the sausage shop of the former Nõo collective farm. The first products were produced on August 1, 1992 – 100 kilos of Nõo roulade were manufactured per day. Soon the company opened its first shop in Tartu and also sold its products in the markets and fairs.


 * From January 1994 until July 1995 nearly 40% of products were sold across the border, therefore arose the necessity to expand production facilities. A new product storage room and distribution room were built. The pan-Estonian sales network was developed, with a focus on Tallinn.
 * In 1997 Äksi slaughterhouse was opened, which enabled the company to use solely its own meat and improve the raw material quality.
 * In 1999 the new finished product slicing and packaging department was established, along with storage and delivery premises and investments were made into new equipment which allowed the company to obtain a new activity permit from the Veterinary Office. On December 1 of the same year the new Lihavürst brand was launched.
 * In September of 2002 Nõo Lihatööstus opened the new 1,000 square meter production facility and together with the old premises the production area reached a total of 2,200 square meters. The total investment total was 45 million Estonian kroons. A new packaging line was purchased for 12 million kroons. 10 million kroons were invested in new smoking ovens and the only raw salami producing machine in Estonia. Completion of the new premises allowed to increase production capacity by 50%.
 * In 2002 five Nõo Lihatööstus products were awarded with the Approved Estonian Taste symbol: Nõo roulade, Nõo fat wieners, tongue sausage, Timmu roulade, and Vienna pocket.
 * In 2006 the yearly turnover of the company for the first time exceeded 100 million kroons. Export to Latvia was launched.
 * In 2007 Nõo Lihatööstus production premises extension was completed: another 3,017 square meters were added to the existing 2,400 square meters. This also resulted in the expansion of Nõo Lihatööstus product range: the new technology allowed production of smoked sausages, salamis, and snacks.
 * In 2009 export to Lithuania was launched.
 * In 2010 due to the growing demand a new building was constructed in a very short period of time. It allowed to increase production capacity of smoked sausages and snacks. To the company also received a food safety management system certificate corresponding to the ISO 22000:2005 standard.
 * In 2016, construction of the new third production building was started which cost 5 million euros.
 * In 2017-2020 the company invested a total of 15 million euros into production premises and equipment.
 * In 2021 Nõo Lihatööstus was named the best family business in Estonia.
 * In 2022 Nõo Lihatööstus was the first meat manufacturer in the Baltics to launch the production of grill cheese, which was immediately praised by chefs and juries on various local and international competitions. In the same year Nõo Lihatööstus was awarded the prestigious “Food Achievement of the Year” (“Aasta Toidutegu”) title
 * 2020-... Massive investments into production continue. Nõo Lihatööstus is the largest and most innovative meat manufacturer in Estonia based on the local capital, providing jobs to nearly 250 people.

Products
The product range of Nõo Lihatööstus includes over 600 meat products. The company deems it important to use only high-quality meat and does not use the nutrient-poor meat mass obtained from cutting meat leftovers and bones. In product development the company closely cooperates with the leading nutrition experts, top chefs and universities, as well as – for example – with Fitlap nutrition program and BBQ Symphony.