Island lobster processing facility opens

Benson Seafood celebrated the opening of their new lobster processing facility on Thoroughfare Road, Grand Manan, with an open house on Friday, May 15, drawing a big crowd for a ribbon‑cutting and tours. The company has been in the live lobster business for 50 years and can now expand to more markets. Benson Seafood currently employs about 60 people, and they hope to add 50 more when the plant is at full capacity.

CEO Casey Benson welcomed guests and thanked all involved for their support in making the day possible, noting that projects happen because of effort and collaboration, and "people make it special." The facility is more than just a building, he said; it represents years of work. They are "incredibly proud of how far we've come but more excited about where we're headed."

Mayor Bonnie Morse said the Benson family is an integral part of the community and expressed appreciation for the employment opportunities, adding, "We all recognize this community is built around fisheries. For a community this size to have a business this size is a big thing."

MLA Ian Lee echoed the significance of the facility as "something deeper" than a building, "a family that has maintained roots" in the community and the "next logical step" in the business's evolution. It is "a testament to how closely [the Bensons] stay connected to the industry" in seeing a need to be met.

Among those conducting tours of the 15,000‑square‑foot building was owner Morton Benson, who says the legacy -- now spanning six generations -- goes back to his great‑grandfather in 1932. Lloyd Benson managed Morse Lobster Company and developed relationships with buyers. Morton's father Ron incorporated Benson Lobster in 1971.

An array of new conveyors and other machinery now awaits the start of processing, expected in June. Lobsters pass first through the tank houses, where they are graded and sized and selected for either live shipping or processing. Benson Seafood will also process lobsters from the mainland, which will make up about 80% of the total capacity.

There are various tanks and bins for chilling, chutes feeding into baskets and boxes and machinery to dismantle tails and claws. One section vacuums out the intestinal tract; another slices the claws off crab legs and blows the meat out of them, with suction for the dust from the saw. A freezer tank cools tails, followed by a "glaze" tank. Conveyors carry meat to a set of cookers; further equipment opens, slices or minces lobster and crab claws. Another machine packages and vacuum‑seals the meat. Waste goes into a bin to be trucked away for compost.

The equipment can process 20,000 pounds a day, over a 12‑hour shift. Morton says the industry is weathering economic turbulence and "moving both ways." Most of their shipments are to the United States, and Maine lobster is coming north to be processed.

Plant manager Leta Malcolm described the opening as "the best day -- I feel proud. Now we get to say it's done and share it."

The main equipment is "a bespoke installation" from Charlottetown Metal Products, with whom she had many discussions about what they needed and what could be built. She points out, "We had to develop infrastructure to account for" the limitations of ferry capacity and the possibility of cancelled trips. If only one truck can go, live shipments are their priority.

Malcolm will be overseeing half a dozen supervisors, food safety and customs personnel, documenting product flow and testing. "All the little safety details have to be considered," she says. Rooms are pressurized so that contaminants will blow outward when doors are opened. Workers will pass through a disinfection station and change clothes each time they enter the plant, with everything being laundered nightly. A lab will conduct Canadian Food Inspection Agency tests, and every box goes through a metal detector. "Nothing leaves this building without that man's say‑so," Malcolm says of the food inspector. "All our work is to make the food safe. There's a little bit of work to make it delicious, but safety comes first."

Between the processors and the laundry and janitorial staff, employees will be working through most of 24 hours. Malcolm sums up, "We're reaching a finish line that turns into a starting line."