(Photo by Shelby Herbert/KFSK)
Trident Seafoods announced in a press release on the morning of March 15, that it will sell its Petersburg processing plant, bunkhouse, galley, and two housing units to E.C. Phillips & Son Inc.
E.C. Phillips & Son operates year-round out of Ketchikan and Craig, and was established almost a century ago, in 1926.
Trident announced in December that it was selling four of its Alaska-based plants, in the wake of turbulence in the Alaska seafood market.
Jeff Welbourn is the Senior Vice President of Trident’s Alaska Operations. He said Trident’s former employees and fleet might enjoy a longer season under the new banner because E.C. Phillips and Son is, “(…) more focused on variety and direct distribution.” Welbourn also said their approach could stage Petersburg as a great processing hub in Southeast.
Trident Seafoods and E.C. Phillips & Son expect to close the deal on Petersburg’s facilities sometime next month. The details about how the sale might affect the upcoming fishing season are unknown. Spokespeople from both companies declined to comment further on the sale.
