Local Companies And Workforce The Secret To Cooke Aquaculture’s Global Success
SAINT JOHN – Cooke Aquaculture is undergoing a period of rapid global expansion that’s been of great benefit to the Atlantic Canadian economy, creating jobs and supporting companies and communities across the region.
In a speech at a recent conference in Saint John organized by the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council (APEC), CEO Glenn Cooke traced not only the recent international acquisitions, but also the economic impacts here at home.
The company now operates in 10 countries with 25 processing facilities and over 9,000 employees. It ships a billion pounds of seafood products to 67 countries with $2.4-billion in revenues.
Atlantic Canada reaps the benefits of the company’s now-extensive global reach.
Cooke works with 757 local partners and suppliers from all over New Brunswick and buys goods and services from 1,269 small and medium-sized businesses, spending $231-million per year across Atlantic Canada.
“One of our guiding principles has been to support the communities where we operate and where our people live and work,” said Cooke in the speech to nearly 150 Saint John area business leaders.
“We appreciate each and every small, medium and large supplier we work with for their role in supporting our global growth,” said Cooke. “Our company believes strongly in helping other small and medium sized business scale in New Brunswick and Atlantic Canada. As we grow, we want to see these companies grow right along with us.”
Even with its acquisitions of several companies outside the region, Cooke is committed to investing in making its operations grow here at home.
The company is in the midst of a multi-year capital expansion plan to spend $200-million in New Brunswick and $500-million across Atlantic Canada.
In Bayside, close to St. Andrews, the company is planning to build a large, land-based post-smolt facility that will require a $57-million capital investment and create new jobs.
Cooke has nearly finished construction on a new Genomics-based Family Breeding Station and Gene Bank Library in Oak Bay and are also building a new $13.5-million freshwater hatchery at Johnson Lake in Pennfield.
“These two facilities enable us to strengthen and increase our overall supply of eggs and smolts,” said Cooke.
The company has also invested heavily in research and innovation and in expansion and improvement with the support and help of partners like ONB and ACOA.
“They share our commitment to investing in our people and our communities. I’m a big believer in Atlantic Canada and we need to drive our own future,” said Cooke.
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Its head offices in Saint John now include the former synagogue in Saint John, which the Cooke family purchased and then made a significant capital investment as the structure required major renovation and updating. The project was recently recognized by the City of Saint John and Develop Saint John with the Developer of the Year award.
The company now has 1,410 employees in New Brunswick across all its divisions, with the spin-off impact creating an extra 979 jobs in the province.
The Cooke team employs people with variety of backgrounds and experience, including corporate services, tractor trailer drivers, IT, logistics, processing, marine maintenance, engineers, veterinarians, research scientists, vessel captains and deckhands, and fish farm managers and feed technicians.
“We are building our local and global team – and we are actively recruiting,” said Cooke. “As we have grown, we have continued to bring new jobs here to New Brunswick.”
“Over the years, through our sustainable growth, our economic, social and local impact in New Brunswick has really grown,” added Cooke. “This contributes a lot to New Brunswick’s economic and social well-being.”
This story was sponsored by Cooke Aquaculture.