Seafood distributor Albion Fisheries plans to increase revenue, potentially embark on acquisitions and move into a larger Lower Mainland headquarters in the wake of a partnership with one of the world’s fastest growing seafood-processing companies.
Albion signed an exclusive agreement in February to distribute Zhangzidao Fishery Group Co. products in western Canada, Albion CEO John Milobar told Business in Vancouver last week.
Zhangzidao is the largest seafood-processing company in Asia, and Milobar described its recent growth in the U.S. as being “spectacular.”
Zhangzidao has so far not distributed any of its products in western Canada.
Milobar expects his company to move within the next 18 months into a new office–warehouse that could be up to 100,000 square feet. Albion operates out of a 45,000-square-foot facility on Great Northern Way.
“Nobody’s ever too flush with cash,” Milobar said. “[But] if there is any consolidation going on in our industry in the next while, we’d like to be part of it.”
Albion’s founder and former owner Dave Athey carved a niche in the sustainable seafood business long before it was fashionable. About 10 years ago, he took Chilean sea bass off his list of offerings because he heard that that species was not being fished sustainably.
Athey later sold what is now a 220-employee venture to Gordon Food Service.