U.S. scallop producer and processor Eastern Fisheries has announced an expansion in Europe with a new facility in the Netherlands and the forming of a new European subsidiary.
The company announced this week a new factory in Staphorst, Netherlands, as well as the forming of Eastern Fisheries Europe, which will manage the company’s European operations.
“This new processing plant will bring an even better value to our European customers by providing ‘just-in-time’ inventory and more efficient logistics,” said Joe Furtado, Eastern Fisheries executive VP. “The centrally located EU facility will ultimately cut the order process time for our overseas customers from roughly 60 days to 6.”
The new plant spans 23,000 square feet, and will focus on sales and distribution of scallop and live lobster products. It will be able to hold more than 500 metric tons of cold storage, and will have a 20,000-pound lobster holding tank.
The new European division will hire up to 50 new employees in its first six months. The company has named Aize van der Sluis to serve as its managing director. According to Eastern Fisheries, van der Sluis has more than 25 years of experience in the industry.
