Small Fry Snack Foods Limited today confirmed the details of its recent acquisition of assets from Humpty Dumpty USA. Company President and CEO, Gerald Schmalz and Atlantic General Manager, Ivan Shreenan briefed Minister Don MacKinnon on the company's plans to increase production in PEI.
"With these additional assets, Small Fry Snack Foods is even better positioned to service the large Eastern USA market," said Small Fry President, Gerald Schmalz. "We are now able to run the production for the 50 sales routes in New England that were formerly serviced by Humpty Dumpty USA. This will significantly increase our production in both PEI and New Brunswick, allowing us to hire more staff in Summerside and run a third processing shift through the evenings."
As a result of Small Fry's purchase of Humpty Dumpty USA, it is estimated that the company will see an increase of 3.6 million pounds of finished product and the creation of an additional 40 jobs in Summerside. Wages for these jobs are estimated to total over $900,000 per year.
"The economic impacts this acquisition brings to the province are far greater than we anticipated," said the Honourable Don MacKinnon, Minister of Development. "Not only is Small Fry creating new jobs in the Summerside area, but it is also creating a significant increase in demand for Island potatoes and other needed products and services for processing."
It is estimated that the increased production will require the purchase of an additional 14.6 million pounds of PEI potatoes and will inject over $1.2 million into the farming economy of PEI. Other related purchases of goods and services, as a direct result of the increase in production, are estimated to inject over $900,000 on an annual basis into the provincial economy.
The potential for further growth into the large US market is very positive for Small Fry Snack Foods. The company will work to attract new markets in an effort to continue to expand the potato chip production business in PEI.
Small Fry Snack Foods is a leading manufacturer of quality snack foods in eastern Canada and the New England area. The company has an extensive distribution network, serving more than 30,000 locations in Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic Canada and New England. Small Fry Snack Foods purchased the assets of Humpty Dumpty Potato Co. of Scarborough, Maine on January 24, 2000.