Ross Swanes, president of Northern Fish Products in Tacoma, Washington, U.S.A., is the fifth generation working in the business founded in 1912. The company began as a fish smoking operation and is now a full-line distributor and is vertically integrated in key areas. Its operations include Northern Fish Alaska (salmon, halibut, and cod), South Bend Products (dungeness crab, clams, salmon, cod, and albacore tuna) and Northern Seafood Sales, a brokerage.
SeafoodSource: What is the core business principle or strategy under which your company operates?
Swanes: The internal joke that my dad’s grandfather said was that we’ve been going out of business since 1912. Basically that means that we’re an everyday business. We do this every day; good day or bad day, we get up and do it again tomorrow. Our business strategy now is about making decisions based on what our customer needs. We’ve been around 105 years and everything we deal with has a shelf life of 24 to 96 hours. So we can’t look too far back or too far forward—we have to make money on what’s in the cooler.
SeafoodSource: Are there any specific challenges or benefits to being a multi-generational, family-owned business?
Swanes: I’m sure there are challenges, but I’ve worked outside the family business in consulting and the tech industry and I came into this because I saw the benefits. One of those is that you can take the long view on some things and make decisions that will pay off in five to 10 years, rather than making numbers for shareholders that are due next week. It’s all about the long-term viability of the company. We run everything like we’ll sell the company tomorrow – so we don’t have to.
SeafoodSource: How would you describe your growth strategy?
Swanes: We are in a passive acquisition mode. If people on both sides of the table want to work together, we’ll talk about it. We have a couple of things we’re working on, but we don’t have a specific goal. That can be dangerous in a commodity business. We look for mutually agreeable opportunities; and we work with customers to invest in things that will benefit them, whether it’s related to packaging or standards. We can go down whatever path we want to.
SeafoodSource: What do you consider to be the biggest business challenge thus far, how did you address it and what did you learn from that experience?
Swanes: We decided to move to being a GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) -certified facility and had a visit from the FDA in October 2016 that highlighted our deficiencies. It was hard to hear, but as a result we re-architected our QA department, did some upgrades across the company and it made us a better company overall. It cuts you to the core, but it also makes you say, “That was yesterday, what can we do now?”
Our customers have more faith in us now because they saw we got knocked down, got back up and have improved. We have confidence we can answer any of our customers’ questions and we want them to come down and see our operation. We also had a total culture change. We had to hire some new people and part ways with some and all of the team bought into it. We have had people who have been here 20-plus years and I was worried about whether they could make the change, but it gives me a lot of pride that 25-year veterans have really embraced it. I have to give credit to our QA department, the new head of QA and our GM for linking arms and moving us forward. As a result, we’ve gotten new business because of our commitment to food safety.
SeafoodSource: On the achievement side, what do you consider to be your company’s greatest achievement?
Swanes: We’re Norwegians and we’re fatalists. We don’t dwell on achievements. I would say our greatest achievement is the people we have here – long-term employees who are the driving force on our company. With those guys, I’m still the new guy and I’ve been here 10 years.
We’ve also expanded quite a bit, adding about 15 percent new employees. We have some rookies and we also have our people who have embraced new ideas.
SeafoodSource: What impact do you see the Trump administration and its policies having on the seafood industry?
Swanes: The verdict is still out. But any time I hear political talk about trade agreements that lean toward protectionism, it’s not good for a commodity business. I get nervous anytime people talk about that. We import from 10 countries and export to five or six. We’re not political, but things can happen that affect us. I believe everyone can grow and that the free flow of capital is an important part of the economy.
SeafoodSource: What issues within the seafood industry are you watching or seeking action on?
Swanes: I’m keeping a close eye on traceability and where the regulatory scheme is. We need transparency in terms of food safety, but there is also competitive information that the industry would like to keep quiet. I’m also watching the FDA’s approach to inspection. We’re committed to GFSI, but I’m watching FSMA (Food Safety Modernization Act) and how it gets implemented.
SeafoodSource: What has been the best piece of business advice you’ve been given and from whom did it come?
Swanes: This is a poem my grandfather read everyday before going to work. He had it in his locker for 50 years and I have it next to my bed.
Press On by J. Calvin Coolidge: Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
Another piece of advice was to always go out on the floor and see what’s happening. Don’t manage a company from your desk.
