U.S. seafood harvester and processor Trident Seafoods is growing. In addition to recently opening a USD 40 million (EUR 36.5 million) plant, Trident continues to grow its foodservice and retail offerings in North America and around the world.
The company’s new plant in Carrollton, Ga., features an 88,000 square-feet manufacturing floor, 20,000 square feet of support area and 18,000 square feet of office space.
SeafoodSource recently talked with Trident CEO Joe Bundrant about the new facility and other ways the global seafood processor is expanding.
Blank: Why was the plant in Carrollton needed?
Bundrant: We will be shipping to a number of international customers out of this facility, but this plant is primarily here to service the North American market. We have a large number of clients on the East Coast, so we can provide better service to those customers. Our beautiful, state-of-the-art research and development facility will also be good for those customers with offices on the East Coast. A lot of times, it is difficult to get them to our R & D facility in Seattle. Now, we can collaborate more closely with them on research and development. We have many channels of business, including consumer packaged goods, foodservice and industrial customers that use Trident products as an ingredient. All of those channels look for R & D support, creativity and innovation.
Blank: Which lines will be produced at the Carrollton facility, and what is the capacity?
Bundrant: We will produce our salmon burgers, pollock burgers, ultimate fish stick and many other great products. We will be capable of producing finished goods of 50,000 tons a year. We opened 90 days ago and are operating at full capacity. We have two beautiful, high-speed lines, along with a lot of automation and great people there. You can have the best facility and the best equipment, but if you haven’t got great people, you won’t be successful. We feel fortunate that folks have transferred form three different locations to make sure our Trident culture has transitioned there. We have 175 employees total at the facility.
Blank: Are you seeing more demand for your products internationally? In which countries?
Bundrant: Business is very good globally. With the strength of the U.S. dollar, it presents real challenges, but we are fortunate to be diversified internationally. We shipped to more than 50 countries last year and opened new offices in Brazil and Benelux. Not one country is leading the growth at Trident.
Blank: What differentiates Trident’s frozen seafood products from others on the market?
Bundrant: We have really focused on quality. If you look at the history of fish sticks, for example, there has been a gradual decline in quality over the past 40 years. However, since we launched the Ultimate Fish Sticks, we have seen several competitors launching higher quality products as well. The Salmon Burger and the Pollock Burger are also incredible products. We recently launched new smoked salmon products. And the Louis Kemp Sriracha Crab Delights is an example of a new and innovative product for Trident. There hasn’t been a lot of innovation in that category [imitation crab] for some time and we are hopeful that these new products will help lead growth in that category.
