The Enterprise Article 2015 - Spence & Co., Ltd.
Transcript of The Enterprise Article 2015 - Spence & Co., Ltd.
Print PageBy Joseph Markman
March 23. 2015 3:02PM
Brockton company creates worldclass salmon products
PHOTO/ DAVE DEMEL IA/THE ENTERPR I SE
Maria Leopoldina and Maria Fernandeswork a hand slice, taking off excess fatfrom the salmon at Pence & Co. inBrockton on Thursday, March 12, 2015.
BROCKTON – Spence & Co. Ltd. thrives on precision.
The company, hidden behind a kidney dialysis center near Route 24, is one of the country’s top producers of premiumsmoked salmon. It uses a Brockton area workforce – 35 fulltime and 30 seasonal employees – who salt, smoke, trimand package salmon with exacting care.
“There is that sense of pride, that sense of ownership, that sense of belonging,” said Gerry Stewart, the company’splant manager.
Stewart hails from Northern Ireland and spent years smoking salmon in the United Kingdom before joining Spence &Co. about 15 years ago. Recently, he and his workers were visited by a film crew from Bruegger’s Bagels, whichfeatured the company in its “Behind the Taste” video series.
Spence & Co. produces oak woodsmoked salmon to be paired with Bruegger’s bagels and cream cheese. Its salmoncan also be found in supermarkets like Whole Foods, sliced thin, made into pate and even packaged as “Lox in a Box.”
“If you tell me how you like your fish, I can create it that way,” Stewart said. “We complement the fish, we do notoverpower it.”
Founder Alan Spence, a Scottish salmon smoker and fisherman, started the company in Easton 25 years ago, but smoking salmon dates back millennia.
On the banks of Scottish rivers, ancient fishermen would catch salmon and dry it over fires. What began as food preservation – the smoked fish could be keptover the winter months – eventually became a matter of taste.
Salmon comes into Spence’s Brockton facility fresh, from all over the world. Each fillet is inspected for firmness, color and bones. They are rinsed and salted,then place in one of the company’s smokers, imported from the United Kingdom.
The machines circulate smoke for about 12 hours, depending on the product, with temperatures not rising above 90 degrees. That means the salmon is notactually cooked, and must be handled carefully.
The biggest danger is the bacteria listeria monocytogenes, which can cause food poisoning. Federal regulators and auditors hired by Spence & Co. frequentlytest for the bacteria. To get inside the processing room, workers and visitors don protective gear from head to toe.
On a recent weekday morning, workers prepared thin slices of salmon and placed them carefully on laminated, goldcolored cardboard.
At one end of the room, a worker fed fillets into a machine that removed the skin. Then two others used handheld devices – the same kind used by doctorsperforming skin surgery – to remove excess tissue.
From there another machine used a laser to measure the salmon and decide how best to cut it into smaller pieces. Workers then examined each piece andarranged them on the cardboard. Vacuumsealed pouches are handchecked to ensure they closed properly.
Spence & Co. ships its salmon all over the country, but sales director Tom Higgins says that despite the company’s growth, “we still hold onto that small,artisanal side of us.”
“It really is one of the most meticulously groomed and wellhandled products in the United States,” he said.
Joseph Markman may be reached at [email protected].
http://www.enterprisenews.com/article/20150323/NEWS/150328706 Print Page