New England Seafood chief executive Dan Aherne has told of his delight at now playing a key part of Grimsby鈥檚 primary industry as his business closes in on completing a 拢15 million expansion.
An 鈥渋nvaluable鈥 拢3.8 million government grant - just announced - has allowed the consolidation of neighbouring Europarc premises into the original site to go 鈥渇urther and faster鈥 than initially envisaged, while providing capital comfort during tough inflationary times.
Now the leader of a business that had been buoyed by an Alaskan buy-out just weeks before coronavirus landed on these shores is well advanced in executing strategic expansion plans. It will see a rapid ramp-up of staff at the plant, as the footprint is doubled with the addition of the Haith鈥檚 premises, after it migrated south to Louth.
Read more: Traditional fish smoker set to expand after major overhaul of iconic building
Reflecting on how regular new contract wins and strong growth has further cemented the company鈥檚 seven year status in the seafood capital, Mr Aherne said 鈥淲e arrived in November 2016 and we couldn鈥檛 be happier with how it has gone, with the wins we have secured in terms of new contracts, and much more besides. The Surrey-based business鈥 acquisition of Albert Darnell brought the firm North. It had started in seafood with live lobster imports to Heathrow in the Nineties, widening its shellfish appeal for the London restaurant scene before entering retail and, with the Grimsby buy-out, whitefish.
鈥淲e have gone faster than we anticipated, which is a great reward for doing the job right,鈥 Mr Aherne said. 鈥淲e have great people around us. We knew of the skills and the knowledge, and with our vision we have been able to create great things. It makes the job of leadership so much easier if you have great people.
鈥淭hen there鈥檚 the whole infrastructure, in terms of what we are doing with the cluster, the support of the MPs, it feels like there鈥檚 a shared determination to keep this part of the market growing.鈥
And there鈥檚 a further synergy he is keen for the industry to exploit too.
鈥淚 also love what Grimsby is doing with clean energy,鈥 he said. 鈥淕rimsby is growing on the back of green energy and one of the cleanest proteins we have in terms of sustainability and water usage. It is really putting the place on the map. We鈥檝e seen the investment in wind farms, and now - when it comes to climate change - we need to be talking far better about seafood consumption.
鈥淚t has never been more relevant to consumers, and for jobs. If we keep breaking down any emotional barriers about eating fish, the stage is set for this growth and even more investment in the sector. We can鈥檛 increase consumption without delivering the production capacity.鈥
