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V o l . X X I N o. I I I F e b r ua r y 9 , 2 0 1 5 16 First he had to learn the lesson that simply getting bigger wouldn't solve the intrinsic problems of selling potatoes in the commodity marketplace. In 1978, when a Mars Hill potato warehouse build- ing and 1,600 acres of farmland became available in a foreclosure auction involving a Philadelphia-based supermarket chain, McCrum persuaded his father and older brother to join with him in an ambitious expan- sion plan. ey succeeded in greatly expanding their acreage, but the $700,000 purchase hardly secured their futures as potato farmers. "I went from the tractor seat to selling potatoes in five-pound and 10-pound bags," he says. Heading into the 1990s, it became obvious the "bad years" were out- numbering the "good years." Something had to change. In a 1995 conversation with Francis Fitzpatrick, an Aroostook potato farmer who sold most of his potatoes to Frito-Lay, McCrum says they both came to the same conclusion: "Nobody is coming to save us, so we better save ourselves." Ready-to-eat fresh garden salads were becoming increasingly popular, which got him and Fitzpatrick thinking there might be an opportunity to do the same with fresh-cut potatoes. It wasn't a large market at that time, he says, but it was a different market than French fries and potato chips. It also had the advantage that they wouldn't be going head-to-head with the "big boys" — including Lisle, Ill.-based McCain Foods USA, a subsidiary of the world's largest French fry pro- ducer, the Canadian firm McCain Foods Ltd., which has annual sales of $4.74 billion. McCain's Easton plant is 11 miles from Mars Hill. McCrum and Fitzpatrick toured salad plants on the West Coast and a fresh-cut potato company in Europe. en they sat down and "scratched out a design, farmer style, on a sheet of paper." e plan called for converting the Mars Hill ware- house into a state-of-the-art production facility they figured would cost them $3.5 million. It ended up cost- ing $15 million. Based on a prospective customer's promise to buy five truckloads of fresh-cut potatoes a week from the new company, they signed contracts with local farmers. When the plant opened in 1997, their major customer backed off. "We had this $15 million plant and no busi- ness," McCrum recalls. "It was brutal. You couldn't get any closer to bankruptcy than I was at that time." e word "quit" is not in McCrum's personal dic- tionary. He hit the road in search of other customers, eventually landing Hannaford as a retail buyer. It kept the company alive — just barely. "Our business was growing, but not fast enough," he says. A timely investment from the Portland-based Libra Foundation helped Naturally Potatoes retool its produc- tion lines to capitalize on greater consumer demand for its refrigerated mashed potatoes over its diced potatoes. "ere's no question in my mind, if we hadn't bumped into Libra we probably wouldn't have what we have here today," he says. "We were hemorrhaging. Bringing in Bill Haggett [via Libra as CEO] helped us because he brings in credibility. So there are two mir- acles: Libra and Bill Haggett. ey were the perfect fit for what we needed at precisely that moment in time." McCrum says Libra and Haggett essentially told him, "Focus on sales, and don't worry about the money." Following that game plan, the company grew and soon was posting double-digit increases in yearly sales. It became so attractive it was acquired in 2005 by Walnut Creek, Calif.-based Basic American Foods, which was eager to get into the refrigerated potato business. "Selling the company allowed everyone to get their money back with interest," McCrum says. Five years later, Basic American Foods was los- ing money at its Mars Hill plant and decided to sell it. McCrum, partnering with Libra's Pineland Farms food group, bought it back in 2010, paying less than the company sold for in 2005. McCrum remembers telling Owen Wells, Libra's president and CEO at the time, "e first time, we didn't know what we were doing. is time, we're going in with our eyes wide open." Building a reputation for potatoes "We turned the company around almost instantly," McCrum says, noting that he and his management Processing acres Seed acres Tablestock acres 0K 10K 20K 30K 40K 50K 60K 70K 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 » C o n t I n u e d f ro M p r e v I o u s pa g e There Is a Difference Because Sheridan Construction www.sheridancorp.com Construction Management Design/Build General Contracting Engineering Harold Alfond Academic Center at Thomas College Maine potato production 2003–2013 s o u r C e s : Maine Potato Board, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) 13% 20% 67% 12% 20% 68% 14% 20% 66% 13% 20% 67% 13% 19% 68% 13% 19% 68% 13% 19% 68% 15% 18% 67% 15% 20% 65% 15% 23% 62% 14% 20% 66%

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