Friday Food Insider: Aroostook County potato processor to get Canadian owner with global reach

PROVIDED PHOTO The Penobscot McCrum potato processing plant was built in Washburn in 2020 and now employs 145.

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Penobscot McCrum LLC, an Aroostook County potato processing facility with roots going back five generations, is set to start its next chapter with a new owner after an agreement to be acquired by McCain Foods, a Canadian company with a global footprint.

Terms of the deal, subject to closing conditions, were not disclosed.

The transaction includes McCrum’s 115,000-square-foot-plus potato processing facility in Washburn, which processes potatoes for French fries, wedges and other products.

McCrum's farming operation will remain independently owned and will enter a long-term potato supply agreement with McCain.

All 130 employees at the Washburn facility will join the multinational food company.

McCain has been part of Maine’s potato industry for nearly 50 years. In 1976, the company acquired a processing facility in Easton, which is 19 miles from the McCrum facility in Washburn.

The McCrum family has been growing and processing potatoes in the state since 1886. In 2004, the company merged with Penobscot Frozen Foods and, in 2020, opened a 96,000 square-foot plant in Washburn specializing in a range of frozen French fry products.

“This is a natural next step for the long-standing partnership between our farming operations and McCain Foods,” said Jay McCrum, owner and CEO. “We know McCain. We know their values. We have every confidence they will build on our family’s legacy while allowing us to continue to grow in agriculture, just as we have for more than five generations.”

Maine's $1.3 billion potato industry is rooted in Aroostook County, where 90% of its 54,000 farmed acres are located, according to the Maine Potato Board.

McCain's global footprint

For the Canadian buyer, the acquisition is set to expand its North American footprint and consolidate the operations of two of the county's largest potato processing facilities.

McCain was founded in Florenceville, New Brunswick, in 1957 and is headquartered in Toronto.

Its products are available in restaurants and retail stores in more than 160 countries. The company has major production, retail and corporate operations worldwide, employs 22,000 people, operates 49 production facilities across six continents and partners with 3,900 farmers.

“We share a strong commitment to integrity, sustainability, and the highest-quality standards," said Howard Snape, president of McCain's North America region.

"Both companies enjoy strong relationships with local farmers, and all of that will continue," he said. "On the ground, we expect this transition to be seamless for the newest additions to the McCain team and the McCrum farmers who grow potatoes for us.”

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