Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A.-based Acme Smoked Fish has acquired an equity stake in Outrup, Denmark-headquartered smoked fish producer Norlax A/S.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but in a 5 January press release, Acme said it had purchased a “significant” stake in Norlax. Denmark’s Central Business Register lists Acme as having taken a 50 to 66 percent stake in Norlax on 4 January.
Acme Smoked Fish co-CEO Adam Caslow said the acquisition was part of the family-owned company’s effort to expand its international presence. Founded in 1906, the company is a leader in the U.S. smoked fish market and expanded into Chile in 2015, opening a fish processing facility in Puerto Montt, a hub of salmon aquaculture.
“We look forward to continuing to build an international team with the best in the industry,” Caslow said. “We work with people we believe in, and Norlax has been producing high-quality smoked fish in Denmark for the past 100 years. My family and I are confident that they are just as committed to producing the best smoked fish on earth as we are.”
Acme and Norlax initiated a partnership in 2008 and Acme said its acquisition of a large stake in Norlax will strengthen its supply chain and widen its product offerings. It will also allow Acme to operate closer to European sources of raw material, the company said.
Caslow said the partnership with two companies gelled due to shared core values and a “commitment to the highest-quality products [that] starts with fresh whole fish, time-honored smoking techniques, and a fastidious commitment to food safety at every step of production.” Both companies are credentialed with Global Food Safety Initiative certification and devote “significant resources to research, development, and technology,” according to Caslow.
Norlax A/S is a producer and exporter of produce and hot- and cold-smoked salmon, ocean trout, and mackerel. According to Norlax CEO and Managing Director Ole Clemensen, the Acme partnership will enable his company to “access additional resources from Acme as well as complementary products to offer its customers a full suite of value-add seafood products.”
“We are thrilled to become a part of the Acme family, a leader in smoked fish in the U.S. for many years,” Clemensen said. “We have benefited from a wonderful working relationship in the past, and our team looks forward to working with their team and utilizing their many resources.”
Acme, which is in the process of expanding its headquarters in Brooklyn to enlarge and upgrade its smokehouse and other production facilities, has a line-up of products including Smoked Nova, Pickled Herring, and Whitefish Salad sold under the Acme, Blue Hill Bay, Spence + Co, Ruby Bay, and Great American brands. In the past three years, it has introduced new products including Sashimi-style Smoked Salmon, ready-to-eat Poke Bowls, and Smoked Atlantic Salmon Candy.
Acme acquired Brockton, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based Spence & Co. in October 2019. Acme also operates a 100,000-square-foot cold-smoked salmon facility in Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S.A.
Photo courtesy of Acme Smoked Fish
