Made in Fall River - September 30, 2008
Blount Fine Foods wants to change the world's soup experience, one bowl at a time. Find out what else makes this manufacturer tick.
Business name: Blount Seafood Corp. DBA Blount Fine Foods
Address: 630 Currant Road, Fall River, MA
Phone number: 774 888-1300
Web site: www.blountfinefoods.com
Number of employees: 200
Contact person: Todd Blount
Number of years in business: 62
What do you manufacture?
Refrigerated and frozen gourmet soups and dips.
Who uses your product(s)?
Restaurants and retailers [grocery stores and club stores].
Why are you located in Fall River?
It has the closest industrial park to our Warren, R.I., plant. We love the Fall River workers.
What do you think Fall River’s best quality is?
Steady workforce, that stays out of trouble [not hearing about Fall River in the news is a good thing, in contrast to New Bedford and Providence].
What’s the biggest business challenge you’ve overcome?
Taking the risk to build a new plant and then build the business to pay for it.
How would you like to change the world?
Upgrade America’s soup experience, one bowl at a time.
What motivates you to do your best?
Satisfied customers, satisfied employees and family pride.
What qualities do you look for in an employee?
Loyalty, hard work and smarts.
What’s the most fun you have had on the job?
The day we opened the Fall River plant.
What was the toughest decision you ever had to make?
Building the new plant.
What’s the first thing you do when you get in in the morning?
Check e-mail, then walk around and talk to people.
How do you define success?
Building enterprise value in the business, in the customers and in the employees.
What advice would you give to another business owner?
Go slow, but grow.
Where do you see your company in 10 years? 50?
in 10 years, with many other “Fine Foods” [mostly refrigerated prepared foods for the deli at the grocery store]. In 50 years, either a public company or owned by one.
What piece of office equipment could you not live without?
Refrigeration, specifically our massive spiral freezer.
How did you come up with a name for your business?
“Blount” just came with the deal, “Fine Foods” describes the uniqueness and diversity of our products.
“I hope my employees understand that ...”
They are making a difference, their effort is important and we could not do it without them. They are family.
“The thing that surprises me most about running a business is ...”
It takes 10 times more time and effort to build cash than spending it. Cash is king.
If we asked your employees to describe you, what would they say?
Quiet, easy going, consistent, family oriented.
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