Libra Foundation buys potato company
A group of Maine investors, including Portland-based nonprofit The Libra Foundation and a former Bath Iron Works president, has bought a struggling potato processor in Mars Hill to preserve its 100 jobs.
The group on Tuesday bought Naturally Potatoes from California-based Basic American Foods for an undisclosed sum, according to the Portland Press Herald. The Libra Foundation previously owned the plant, founded in 1997 by a group of potato farmers, from 1999 to 2006, and during that time grew it into a $23 million business under the leadership of founder Rodney McCrum and William Haggett, a former BIW president.
Owen Wells, president of The Libra Foundation, told the paper the investment group decided to buy back the company, the largest employer in Mars Hill, when "we found out they weren't doing very well." Naturally Potatoes will become part of the foundation's Pineland Farms companies, and be run again by Haggett and McCrum, who will serve as chairman and CEO and as president and COO, respectively. Naturally Potatoes sells refrigerated potato products around the country.
Go to the article from the Portland Press Herald >>
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments