Tag Archives: TOM ADAMS
Once stymied by China tariff, lobster dealer finds a workaround
Tom Adams, CEO of Maine Coast lobster wholesale company in York, said he’s found ways to make up revenue that was lost when a 25% tariff was implemented last July on imports of lobster to China. The tariff has taken a bite out of his company’s sales, Adams said. Previously, China had been Maine Coast’s fastest growing market, but the tariff eliminated 80% of Maine Coast’s sales to mainland China. Overall, the value of live Maine lobsters exported to China dropped 64% in July 2018, compared with July 2017, industry experts said last year. China now gets most of its lobster from Canada. Adams told Mainebiz an aggressive marketing campaign has resulted in significant sales increases in other parts of Asia and in the U.S., and in retention of European sales even though that market was also disadvantaged by an 8% tariff over Canadian competitors. >click to read<21:29
Many US lobster companies coping well with tariff impact
As the trade war between the United States and China continues, with indications that it may escalate even further, most U.S.-based lobster companies have seen their exports to China fall dramatically. Despite the decrease, many companies say the market for lobster is still strong enough to keep the impact to their companies at a minimum. Some companies that never invested heavily into Chinese exports said 2018 has been a better-than-average year. >click to read<12:36
York wavers on lobster co.’s big plans after owner’s arrest
The town could reconsider its involvement in securing a federal grant for lobster wholesaler Maine Coast, following the arrest over the weekend of Tom Adams, the company’s owner. The grant is a crucial part of a planned $1.2 million expansion of Maine Coast that would create jobs for local residents. Town Manager Steve Burns recently filed a letter of intent on behalf of the town, seeking a $300,000 Community Development Block Grant, which would be matched by Maine Coast. He said Tuesday, though, that Adams’ arrest could change things. Adams was arrested on a charge alleging drunken driving following an accident that sent local electrician Chris Welch to the hospital. “The question is, does it change the risk of the town?” said Burns. “The business is obligated to create 10 jobs. If all of a sudden it’s impacted because of legal action, does that expose the town?” continue reading the story here 08:11
How an ex-dockworker turned his passion for lobster into a $40 million business
After getting a taste of life as a dockworker when he was a teenager, Tom Adams was hooked. More than three decades later, 46-year-old Adams has climbed from earning $4.50 an hour to heading Maine Coast, the seafood distributor he founded in 2011 that generated $40 million in sales last year. “I got a little salt in my blood and ended up staying with it,” Adams said of his early education in the business, which included unloading boats, grading lobster and picking their meat. After years working with the same company that first hired him, Adams decided to part ways with the business and sell the considerable stake he’d built in it. While Adams declined to share an exact figure, he said the investors paid more than $1 million. As part of the deal, he signed a two-year non-compete, which prohibited him from working for a lobster company in the meantime. Video, read the rest here 18:04
Two opposing views of the Gulf Red Snapper Fishery
John Sackton — Feb 11, 2013 — A new allocation fight is taking place in the Gulf of Mexico with recreational charters, backed by the Coastal Conservation Association, preparing to steamroller commercial interests, and further restrict do
mestic red snapper from restaurant menus. Read more here
TOM ADAMS -Mr. Sackton’s recent analysis of the red snapper allocation fight that appeared in the recent Seafood.com News and SavingSeaFood.com website is woefully inaccurate. First and foremost, Mr. Sackton pits two specifically named organizations – the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) and Gulf of Mexico Reef Shareholders Alliance – as being at opposite ends of the allocation battle for Gulf of Mexico red snapper. Read more here
