Shucks Maine: Pick of the Crop
Global Corporate Xpansion: Pick Of The Crop, 5/28/07
by Rachel Duran
Sometimes a new application of an existing technology can make all the difference to an industry. For the lobster industry in Maine, which was losing its world-renowned Maine Lobster brand recognition, the innovation by Shucks Maine Lobster couldn't have come sooner.
Global Corporate Xpansion
5/28/07
Pick Of The Crop
by Rachel Duran
Sometimes a new application of an existing technology can make all the difference to an industry. For the lobster industry in Maine, which was losing its world-renowned Maine Lobster brand recognition, the innovation by Shucks Maine Lobster couldn't have come sooner. Lobstermen in the Midcoast region of Maine were receiving 10 cents on a dollar for their product.
The problem was in keeping the lobster fresh. By applying high-pressure water techniques to eliminate bacteria, lobster meat can be taken out of the shell and remain on grocery store freezer shelves for 30 days as fresh seafood, says Daryl Sterling, director of economic development, Town of Richmond. Because of the water process, the tail comes right out of the shell. The lobster is fresh and is not cooked.
The high-pressure water treatment had existed but had never been applied to lobsters before. Shucks Maine Lobster developed the technology to do so inside the company and worked with firms in Mississippi and Canada to perfect the technique. Sterling says the technology developed in Richmond is expanding to grocery store chains and has a huge market potential.
“With this process the lobster trade can remain in Maine, lobstermen are better compensated, and the consumer has the advantage of being on the pier to purchase fresh seafood,” Sterling notes.
Shucks Maine Lobster's insights will have a direct affect on the future of the industry. In locations throughout the country, other food processors and agribusiness companies' activities have a direct affect on local farmers. Such is the case in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, region, home to corporations such as General Mills, Inc., H.J. Heinz Co. and Cole's Quality Foods, Inc., where a boom in activity will continue to support the farmers in Iowa. What's more, larger companies are contributing to the growth of small and mid-size companies in the region, where one company's waste stream is another company's raw material, says Mark Seckman, president, Priority One, part of the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce.