adcan corporate brochure
DESCRIPTION
ADCAN Marine Supplies Written by Chris FarnellTRANSCRIPT
FAMILY VALUES
As with lots of family owned companies they too have their names in the name. Each letter in the name, ADCAN, stands for someone in the family, A-Alexandros (DAD), D-Demetrios (SON), C-Cynthia (MOM), A-Arthur (SON), and N-Nadine (SISTER(late)). Since it was founded 36 years ago it has grown with the family. Today the company, a wholesale distributor of a broad range of both bait and seafood to both the retail and restaurant markets, has two branches and its own fleet of twelve refrigerated vehicles covering an area of the South African coast including KwaZulu-Natal and Port St John. And this was all started by one man selling bait out of the back of his car. Company director Demetrios Stamatis explains.
A Long Way From The Boot of A Car“The company started in 1976,” he tells us. “Dad was a
commercial fisherman and battled to find a good source of bait in Kwazulu Natal, so he went in search of a bait supplier further afield, and eventually ended up becoming an agent for Sneakiest Sardines. He then started the distribution out of his own car to bait customers up and down the coast of Kwazulu Natal. He grew the business from one freezer and his personal car till 1988 when he moved to new freezer premises, because he’d outgrown his old facility; he started to acquire a fleet of refrigerated vehicles, and this is where we’ve been based since then.”
The company’s origins as a small, family run business have made a big impact on the way that it works.
“I think being in a family business makes it easier to make decisions on what to buy and when to buy. We have been able to keep the business in line with our passion and values. Being passionate about the business has helped us strive to keep the business going on the right track through all life’s difficulties. We have strived to retain the family ways in the business, having staff members form bonds to the business. The organisation of the company is a real family effort, with everyone pitching in and everybody having something to offer. More than that, it’s a realisation of the family’s dreams.” Demetrios says.
“It’s a family business with mum, dad and two sons,” Demetrios says simply. “It has been mum and dad’s dream to put it all together. With dad being the entrepreneur and mum managing the finances and making sure that all the paperwork and payments are completed properly, they’ve shared out the responsibilities and made a really great team. And now, my brother and I have been brought in to grow the business and help manage it.”
An Extended Family“We’ve got staff who have been in the business since its
inception, and they have grown up and overcome personal problems while working for us. We really bring them into the company, offering them opportunities to take up shares in new related business adventures.
Of course, with the advantages that come from having a family business there also come a number of responsibilities, and Adcan is extremely careful about who it invites to join that family.
“When you have worked with staff members for years, you get a bit of a feel for them,” Demetrios admits. “So eventually you’re able to try out new people and find the
Adcan Marine Suppies
Adcan Marine Supplies is run by a family who has taken their passion for fishing and turned it into a quality wholesale business. We asked them how they did it, and how being a family formed the way they do business.
people who best fit into the family. That’s key, if they don’t fit into the family they’re not going to fit into the business.”
Overcoming ChallengesHowever, it hasn’t always been an easy rise. The financial
crisis has affected virtually every market adversely, and the seafood market is no exception. However, despite this, Adcan has been able to grow consistently throughout the last year.
“The biggest challenges we’ve faced has been making sure we have the correct licensing in place,” Demetrios explains. “In the seafood business there are a number of areas that you need licenses for. It is a small hurdle, but it can be the most difficult to accomplish because there is a lot of red tape and you can constantly need to be checking where the boundaries are. However, we have now been able to bring in a third party that makes it their business to cut down on red tape. So they’ve done a great job of helping us attain the licenses and permits we need.”
Now Adcan Marine Supplies is looking to the future, and it’s planning to build on its previous successes.
“There’s always room for improvement in the costing of our stock and our expenses,” Demetrios says philosophically. “We’re currently looking at new markets that are seeing growth right now, but which we haven’t moved into yet, so I think we’re going to be looking at expanding in the near future.”
It looks like Adcan Marine Supplies is just going to keep growing. They’ve come this far because they’ve stuck close to the family values they started out with. If they go on as they started, they’ve got a bright future ahead of them.
Adcan Marine Suppies
PRODUCT LIST
MOLLUSCS CRAB
Mussels - 1/2 Shell (Chilean, Chinese, New Zealand)
Mussel MeatClams - Whole
Scallop - 1/2 Shell (roe on)Scallop - Meat (roe on)
King Crab ClawsKing Crab Legs
Soft Shell Crab Snow (Opilio) Crab Clusters
SURIMI HAKE
Crab Salad CutCrabsticks
Fish CakedFish Fingers
Fish Portions (crumbed)Haddock Fillets (smoked hake)
Hake Fillets, H&G, Bellies and LoinsHake Roe
HERRINGS KINGKLIP
Herring - BismarckHerring – Flaps (Norwegian)
Herring - KipperedHerring - Rollmops
Herring - Salted
Kingklip - Baby dressedKingklip - Fillets
Kingklip - Headed & GuttedKingklip - Portions
LINE FISH LOBSTERS
CroakerKabeljou – Portions
Rock CodSweetlip
Trevally – PortionsYellowtail
Lobster - Whole RawLobster - Tails
Lobster - Whole Cooked
FRESHWATER FISH LONGLINE FISH
Bassa (Pangassius) - Fillets
Tilapia - Whole
Angelfish - Black
Angelfish - GreyBlue Shark
DoradoGastoro
MoonfishOil fish - Rough Skin
Oil fish - Smooth SkinSailfish
Spanish MackerelSukiyama
Swordfish
Cephalopods, Crustacea, Molluscs and a wide variety of Fin Fish including Herring, Mackerel,
Salmon and Soles
Production And Distribution Of Value-Added Seafoods To Local Wholesale And Retail Markets
www.oceana.co.za/divisions/bat
