Otti Sigmarsson’s workshop grows with Grindavík’s recovery

Resourcefulness, resilience and optimism are vital to rebuilding Grindavík, Otti Rafn Sigmarsson says, as his family’s businesses take on growing work in the town, mbl.is reports.

About 500 people now have a regular presence in Grindavík, while an estimated 1,500 people work there each day in fish processing, industry and service businesses. The town has changed since it was evacuated in November 2023, after volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, but commercial activity is picking up.

Sigmarsson runs HP Flutningar, which transports essential supplies to Grindavík. Its depot is on Verbraut, in buildings that once housed the Hópsnes fish-processing business, owned and run by Sigmarsson’s grandfather, Eðvarð Júlíusson. The buildings now contain a large laundry, a freight depot and Fjöltak, a vehicle workshop that is part of the same business group.

Fjöltak services vehicles for fire departments, rescue teams, utility companies and telecommunications companies. Its work includes preparing fire engines and off-road vehicles for demanding use. Five to six people work at the workshop, and its workload is growing.

Sigmarsson said the workshop initially handled a range of jobs, including work on containers and trucks. In 2020, Grindavík’s fire chief asked the team to carry out minor repairs on a fire engine. A second vehicle soon followed, requiring new lights, sirens and markings, which the workshop fitted. The work then expanded.

“We know the work and understand the needs,” Sigmarsson said. He was born in 1985 and has been an active member and leader of the Þorbjörn rescue team in Grindavík for many years. He was on the front line of rescue and evacuation efforts when eruptions and other natural disasters began there in November 2023.