Investors breathe new life
into processing plant
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
NATURALLY POTATOES has been sold by Basic American Foods of California to a private Maine-based investor group, which includes the Libra Foundation. With over 100 employees, Naturally Potatoes is the largest employer in Mars Hill. Rodney McCrum and William Haggett will return to the company after a five-year absence. The asset purchase transaction was completed for an undisclosed sum Aug. 31.
MARS HILL – A private Maine-based investor group, including the Libra Foundation, has purchased Naturally Potatoes of Mars Hill from Basic American Foods, headquartered in Walnut Creek, Calif. The asset purchase transaction was completed for an undisclosed sum Aug. 31. Libra had a significant ownership role in the business prior to its sale to Basic American Foods in 2005.
“We are delighted to re-establish a group ownership relationship with Naturally Potatoes,” said Owen Wells, president of the Libra Foundation. “Our earlier experience with the company was very successful and we feel positioned to repeat those results.
“The facility is in excellent condition and producing the highest quality refrigerated potatoes available anywhere. With an experienced workforce in northern Maine and a seasoned management team ready to assume leadership roles, we are optimistic about what the future holds for Naturally Potatoes,” he said. “Indeed, we expect the business will fit well into our growing family of Pineland Farms companies including Pineland Farms Natural Meats and our Pineland Farms Cheese operation.”
Pineland Farms Natural Meats has a large cattle feedlot located in Fort Fairfield.
In a press release issued Aug. 30, Loren Kimura, president of Basic American Foods, said the sale will allow the company to focus on its dehydrated potato products.
“The sale of our refrigerated potato business furthers Basic American Food’s overall strategy to be a leading U.S. food company focused on shelf stable products,” Kimura said. “This divestiture further enables the company to focus our efforts where we have a strong competitive position and can generate growth for our company and customers.”
Naturally Potatoes, with over 100 employees, is the largest employer in Mars Hill. It was started in September 1997 by a group of local farmers led by Rodney McCrum and vice president Francis Fitzpatrick, who saw a growing demand for fresh, prepared produce as an opportunity to save Maine’s declining potato industry and create jobs in Aroostook County.
The company’s manufacturing facility has the capability of processing about 10,000 acres of potatoes a year, and currently contracts with approximately 35 growers for the raw product. Its state-of-the-art facility has the potential to produce roughly 180 million pounds of refrigerated potato products a year.
The Naturally Potatoes brand features refrigerated products that have a shelf life of 30 to 60 days, including hash browns, french fries, diced, sliced, wedged, scalloped and mashed potatoes. Packaging is similar to that of fresh-bagged salads. Retail products are available in the prepared foods and produce sections of grocery stores.
McCrum and William Haggett will both return to Naturally Potatoes after a five-year absence. McCrum will resume his duties as president and chief operating officer while Haggett, who served earlier as chairman and chief executive officer, will return in that capacity.
“For the five years that Basic American Foods owned Naturally Potatoes, I had no involvement with the company and neither did Rodney, but for the five years before that, we were both involved with the company, were both investors in the company, we both had the same jobs that we do now, and Libra was involved, as well,” said Haggett. “Rodney and I are pleased to be renewing our relationships with Naturally Potatoes. We had a very successful time here during our first five years, and we’re very pleased to be back involved and are looking forward to resuming what we stopped doing five years ago.
“Rodney will be here full-time every day … he lives right beside the facility, and I’m going to continue to live in southern Maine,” he said. “I’ll be up here every couple of weeks, but Rodney and I talk every day.”
Recognizing that the company has always produced “terrific refrigerated potato products,” Haggett said their objective will be to build on past successes and create a pattern of growth which “secures the future for Naturally Potatoes and helps stabilize the potato industry in Aroostook County.”
“We also know the potential exists to operate a highly efficient production facility which serves the long-term needs of our suppliers, employees and customers,” he said. “Every new venture has challenges, but we are excited by the prospect of returning to a business with such a tremendous reputation and such outstanding people. Naturally Potatoes will fit very well into the Pineland Farms family of companies.”
Haggett said he and McCrum will take a hard look at the operation before making any changes.
“As we get involved and as we come to find the way the company is currently doing business,” he said, “we’ll work with the managers here and we’ll introduce changes as we go along. These are challenging times for businesses because of the general state of the economy, but we’re very optimistic that this company has a promising future.
“The market for refrigerated potatoes is good, the company produces an excellent product, the quality is superb, the facility is very good and the tools are all here to generate a business that will increase in sales and, over the long run, have larger employment numbers,” said Haggett. “I would assume that we’ll run into some difficult issues here over the first few months and employment may be up and down a little bit, but in the long run, I think the company will be steadily trending in a very good direction. We’re looking forward to a long relationship with the people here and hope to make major contributions to the economy of northern Maine.”
