Finland’s largest oil press
We produce oil by cold pressing Finnish oil crops — Turnip rapeseed and rapeseed — both conventional and organic. For nearly 30 years we have refined our cold pressing technique to perfection.
Our Story
Alavuden Öljynpuristamo Oy was founded by local farmers in the town of Alavus, Finland. The very first Turnip rapeseed seeds were pressed in the winter of 1997, using crops grown on the Pihlaja farm. Production began in the old cooperative dairy building in central Alavus, where we operated successfully for more than 20 years.
As production grew, the limitations of the old dairy building became clear. We decided to design and build facilities that would reflect who we are — modern, efficient and purpose-built for cold pressing.
In November 2021, we turned a new page in our history by moving into our own production facility between Alavus and Tuuri, returning symbolically to our roots on the lands of the original Pihlaja farm — the very fields where our first Turnip rapeseed crop once grew.
In every drop of our oil, you can taste nature itself.
Our Values and Promise
Our key values are Finnish origin, naturalness and authenticity. These values also describe the essence of cold pressing — a gentle, natural process that fits perfectly with our philosophy.
A transparent sourcing chain and batch-specific traceability form the foundation of our operations. We can always tell where our oils come from.
Our farmers are our most important partners. They provide the premium, traceable raw materials that ensure the consistent quality of our products.
We are guided by transparency, openness, customer focus and flexibility.
From the very beginning, our purpose has been to produce Finland’s most flavourful cold pressed Turnip rapeseed oil, made with care from Finnish-grown crops.
For consumer products, the region of origin of the raw material is marked on the packaging.
For professional customers, we can provide detailed crop origin information on request.
Our Process
In cold pressing, oil is extracted mechanically from the seed without preheating.
The temperature is kept low throughout the process. After pressing, the oil is filtered, making it ready for bottling and delivery.
The by-product of pressing — a high-protein seed mass known as press cake — is pelletized and used as protein feed on farms or as a raw material for feed production.
Before pressing, the raw material is sorted and pre-cleaned to remove natural impurities such as straw pieces, seed pods, and other plant residues.
Even the removed material is not wasted — its high energy value makes it an excellent biofuel for heating plants.
All side streams from the cold pressing process are fully utilised.
Energy, Water and Waste
Our new production facility is heated using process heat generated during oil pressing — even in the middle of the Finnish winter.
We also produce electricity with our own solar panels. In 2023, our solar power generation covered approximately 13.5 percent of our annual electricity consumption.
We generate only small amounts of mixed waste from staff areas, and our water consumption averages around 5 cubic metres per month.
Clean recyclable cardboard and plastic come from our packaging department — a few hundred kilos per year — all properly recycled.
Broken glass bottles are the only glass waste we produce, just a few kilograms annually.
Our Raw Materials
We use Finnish-grown Turnip rapeseed and rapeseed, purchased directly from farmers.
Each year we process about three million kilograms of raw material, producing over one million kilograms of cold pressed oil.
Most of our raw material comes from within roughly a 100-kilometre radius, primarily from farms in Southern Ostrobothnia and surrounding regions.
However, we also buy crops from all over Finland when offered.
Thanks to our batch-specific production, we can offer oil pressed from crops grown anywhere in the country — whether destined for Helsinki, Oulu or Kuopio.
Turnip rapeseed has a shorter growing season than rapeseed, which makes it particularly well suited to Finland’s northern climate. A fully matured, high-quality crop is the foundation of successful cold pressing.
With our new facility, we are now also equipped to cold press other Finnish oil crops under contract or as subcontracted processing.
For more information, please contact our Production Manager Aapo Liesmäki or CEO Hanna Yli Kuha.
Our Brands
We sell our oils under the Alavuden and Aton brands.
Alavuden is our brand for food-grade oils. All edible cold pressed oils under this label are made exclusively from Turnip rapeseed.
Under the Aton brand, we sell Turnip rapeseed and rapeseed oils in canisters, designed for animal feed energy supplementation and other non-food uses.