Last week, private equity group Champlain Financial Corporation, the owner of Riverside Lobster, Petit-de-Gras Packers Ltd., and Cheticamp Fisheries, purchased Boston Lobster Company and Cape Bald Packers, Riverside Lobster President and CEO David Deveau confirmed to SeafoodSource.
But the excitement of the acquisition was tarnished by a fire that completely destroyed the Cape Bald lobster processing plant in Cap-Pelé, New Brunswick on Sunday, 24 February. The plant employed 500 workers involved in freezing and packing lobsters, Deveau said.
“The factory is a total loss. It’s a disaster for our group,” he said. “The fire threw a nasty curveball at us, as we were trying to plan our future. It’s not good at all for us, and it’s not good for the industry at all. This is going to hurt. This is going to be very painful.”
Deveau said the building was “well-covered by insurance” company is “firmly committed to rebuilding the factory.”
Regarding the employees affected by the fire, Deveau said, “We plan to bring them back to work as fast as we can.”
The fire comes less than a month after a different fire devastated a separate Cape Bald Packers lobster facility in Richibucto Village, about 80 kilometers up the coast from Cape-Pelé. That plant employed 150 to 200 people.
Investigations are ongoing into the cause of both fires. In an interview with the Canadian Press, Cape Bald Packers Manager of Corporate Affairs and Human Resources said there’s speculation on the cause of the fires, though there’s currently no indication of foul play.
"People have questions ... we have our own questions," she said. "It's only human nature to try to understand why this is happening."
Deveau echoed those concerns, and said he wanted it understood that the company’s intentions in the Maritimes and in its acquisition strategy and growth plans are good, and intended to benefit everyone in the industry.
“If it was bad luck, we’ll have to live with it. If it was something else, that’s very unfortunate and discouraging,” he said. “As a group, we are only trying to do good things. It’s all about supporting a growth that is there to build on – improving quality and expanding markets. That vision will be a win for everybody. There’s a great market in lobster, but if you can’t supply it properly or protect it, you lose it in time.”
With two of its processing plants now out of commission, Cap Bald Packers has just one remaining, a smaller plant in Cap-Pelé that processes snow crab and Prince Edward Island mussels.
Meanwhile, post-acquisition operations at Boston Lobster Company are “business as usual,” Deveau said.
“Boston Lobster has a great reputation and is well-situated,” he said. “We wanted a presence in Massachusetts because of wanting to be closer to our U.S. market, and we’re looking forward to taking advantage of the better logistics, especially out of Logan and JFK [airports].”
Boston Lobster is now controlled by Riverside Lobster, aligning the firm’s live lobster operations. Deveau said all of the recently acquisitions, including Riverside Lobster – which was purchased in August 2017 – were benefitting from an influx of equity and expertise brought in by Champlain.
“Our group is about companies with experienced leaders working together. Lobster, in this case, is a very attractive resource right now and its market is growing very rapidly especially in Asia,” Deveau said. “A group like Champlain … They’re careful in their investments. They don’t buy just anybody. They choose companies that are respected and that are known to deliver great products. Once they’re invested, they believe in helping out in any way possible to help the company to grow. We’ve noticed a lot of growth since they took over.”
Deveau declined to say how much lobster Boston Lobster, which has around 25 employees, handles annually, but said Champlain is committed to seeking growth out of its new purchase.
“We want to grow the Boston operation. It’s all about working together and using our collective expertise to solve problems and improve overall operations,” he said. “There is a huge market being created internationally that we feel is worth giving a lot of attention to. So the company feels comfortable to invest in the future and welcome the growth.”
Deveau said the firm isn’t worried about the U.S.-China trade war and its resulting tariffs on U.S. lobster imported into China.
“Regarding tariffs, we’re banking that the situation will change in time,” he said. “When the acquisition opportunity came up, we decided we would rather take advantage of the situation now than wait.”
