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John Pollack
Telegraph-Journal

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Glen Brown says he cares more about quality than quantity.

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Stephen MacGillivray/atwphoto

Bill Brown, left, and Glen Brown, of Admiral Fish Farms Ltd. ‘Our secret to success is tied up in focusing on the quality of the product,’ Glen says. ‘The taking care of the animal from the egg right on through, and being able to sell our customers the concept that they can depend on the quality every time that they open the box.’

The chief executive of Grand Manan-based Admiral Fish Farms Ltd. says that since he runs one of the smaller operations in the province, his objective can't be to serve everyone.

"Our real focus is probably on the quality side of things," he says. "We don't try to go head-to-head with the larger companies as far as scale of production."

But that doesn't mean the entrepreneur isn't looking to expand his business. The company currently raises 700,000 salmon annually at its six sites in the Bay of Fundy. Brown would like to bring that number up to a million within three years.

"For me the reason for the million fish range is simply that with our processing plant, a million fish would just put us in the range of being able to offer all of our employees full-time employment," he says.

The nearly 30 processing plant workers are currently on the job three to four days a week.

"The million fish would simply round that out," he says. "To get to that next level we need access to a few more locations to grow fish."

Brown says this could be done by buying more farms from other operators.

This strategy worked well for the company's expansion in 2005.

With the help of a $4 million provincial government loan guarantee Admiral bought all of the Fundy Aquaculture Group of companies' assets.

Admiral Fish Farm, Brown and his brother Bill, the company's vice-president, were one of 15 New Brunswick companies recognized by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency at their "Art of Success" gala last September.

The acquisition gave the company more capabilities and more freedom, which likely grabbed ACOA's attention, Brown says.

"Up until that time we were simply growing fish," he says. "So we were dependant upon other parties."

Before the acquisition Admiral didn't have its own hatchery or processing plant and was paying other firms for those services.

"It has been a savings," Brown says of running his own hatchery and processing plant. "But more than the savings it has just allowed us to sell our fish when we want.

"When you're dependant on outside parties for those services you have to harvest more when they're able to process your fish," he says. "The acquisition just allowed us to take control over our own destiny."

Now with more control over the whole business process, Brown says the company is better positioned for success.

"It gives us a quicker response time to customers," he says. "Our secret to success is tied up in focusing on the quality of the product, the taking care of the animal from the egg right on through, and being able to sell our customers the concept that they can depend on the quality every time that they open the box."

A couple of years ago the company went through the process of having their company's products audited by a third-party and certified through a food safety and quality program.

"We were one of the first to step out and do that in this part of the world," Brown says.