Since its founding in 1899, Excessive Liner Meals has continued to reimagine itself, navigating main business disruptions and evolving from a regional operation right into a continental powerhouse.
Paul Jewer, president and CEO, shares how the Lunenburg, Nova Scotia-based seafood firm transitioned from supplying cod to the area people to changing into one in every of North America’s largest producers and entrepreneurs of frozen, “value-added” seafood merchandise. The transformation required daring strategic pivots, notably when cod shares vanished from U.S. waters within the Nineteen Eighties, which compelled the corporate to fully reimagine its enterprise mannequin and geographic focus.
How has Excessive Liner Meals grown over the previous 125 years?
Excessive Liner Meals has a deep and wealthy 125-year historical past. Our firm’s function assertion is, “reimagining seafood to nourish life,” which displays how the corporate has operated over our total historical past and the place we’re centered for our future.
We’ve got constantly advanced and altered programs to fulfill market calls for and shifting landscapes and our historical past displays our resilience as a corporation and our responsiveness and talent and willingness to vary as we see and must.
The corporate began in December of 1899 because the W.C. Smith and Firm Ltd. in Lunenburg. Through the years, we’ve confronted challenges, as all firms do, and Excessive Liner has continued to reimagine itself, increasing its operations to america and overseas and remodeled to change into a well- acknowledged and revered value-added processor and vendor of seafood inside the world seafood business.
One main transitional and transformational second that stands out for us is when the cod shares disappeared off the coast of the U.S. again within the Nineteen Eighties, Excessive Liner needed to determine as to who they have been going to be as a corporation. The choice was made to give attention to value-added seafood throughout North America being provided by uncooked materials from the world over.
And this stays who Excessive Liner Meals is right this moment. You possibly can think about what a troublesome resolution it was on the time and the way they needed to rework the corporate, however it’s a fantastic instance of the corporate we’re.
One more reason for our longevity and long-term success is our workers and the contribution they make every single day to the success of Excessive Liner Meals. And that success has proven up over the past 125 years the place we put the client first and give attention to the standard of our product.
What are some key improvements in your business?
We’re in a protein business with a lot development potential and we put nice emphasis on innovation to assist see this development potential change into actuality.
Seafood is a wholesome and sustainable supply of protein. In North America, seafood is beneath consumed. Our alternative is to assist educate customers as to why they need to eat extra seafood and make it handy for them to eat extra of it.
We’ve got an in-house group devoted to innovation. We’re continuously in analysis and growth on a wide range of progressive actions together with launches of brand-new merchandise, new recipes or new types of value-adding and packaging which are extra handy for the patron.
We see “able to eat”—i.e., totally cooked—as a platform for development and are actively engaged in innovation on this space, notably in foodservice, to unlock new alternatives for comfort shops and fast service eating places.
We’re additionally keenly centered on the diversification of species. At the moment, our strongest enterprise is in white fish and we consider there’s nice development alternative past this species. We’re centered on development in salmon and shrimp as properly.
During the last 18 months, we have now made strategic investments in Norcod and Andfjord, two aquaculture firms centered on forward-thinking sustainable cod and salmon. These investments reinforce our place and affect in rising development areas in our business.
The continuous rising price of residing and inflation is a consideration for customers and we’re increasing our lower-cost worth choices, in addition to our value-added choices to assist customers affordably put extra seafood on their plates.
Over the course of your profession, what are some classes you’ve discovered alongside the way in which?
Management can have a major influence on a corporation. I’ve discovered the worth of robust management and over my profession have constantly labored to develop management abilities that may play a constructive position in a corporation and inside an business.
There are some key traits of nice management that I discovered alongside the way in which. I attribute these to my upbringing in Newfoundland and have honed them over time. They’ve helped form me as a pacesetter. Apparently, every of those traits start with H: humility, honesty, onerous work, humour and humanity.
Humility: as a pacesetter that is vital. It means that you can join with folks authentically. It’s worthwhile to at all times bear in mind why you might be on this management position and that it’s about supporting and motivating those that give you the results you want, in regards to the firm you might be representing and the business you might be working in.
Honesty: Your integrity as a pacesetter is one thing you’re employed onerous to construct. You need folks to consider in you and belief in you as a pacesetter.
Laborious work: It’s essential to place within the work, by means of your total profession. The extra you place in, the extra you’ll get out of it.
Humor: It’s worthwhile to have a humorousness. It’s essential to be a severe chief, however there are specific instances and experiences if you want step again, have a humorousness, be taught from it and are available again even stronger in consequence.
Humanity: I’ve the nice fortune of being a pacesetter and with that I’ve a robust sense of duty to our folks and society extra broadly and take into consideration what I’m doing for workers, our neighborhood and our business.
What does the longer term maintain for the corporate?
We’re at all times excited about what’s subsequent, whether or not that be by means of our R&D efforts and bringing new merchandise to market, the additional diversification of species we’re working with, or the efficiencies throughout our provide chain.
We do additionally at all times have our eyes open to potential M&A alternatives, if the proper alternative have been to return alongside. We only in the near past accomplished our acquisition of Mrs. Paul’s and Van de Kamps manufacturers from Conagra Manufacturers. This strategic acquisition is funding in our future. These two main merchandise are welcome additions to our current portfolio of client favorite frozen seafood manufacturers and additional diversify our product choices within the U.S. retail market.
We’re an organization that has at all times put the client and high quality of our merchandise first. And that may proceed to be of focus in our future—assembly buyer and client pursuits and wishes and serving to North Individuals get pleasure from extra seafood.
