PORTLAND, Maine — The business magazine Mainebiz selected Rodney McCrum, leader of the Mars Hill-based potato processor Pineland Farms Potato Co., as its “business leader of the year” for large companies in 2016.
In a profile Monday, the magazine wrote Pineland Farms grew to become a $50 million enterprise last year, increasing revenue by 38 percent on its ready-to-eat potato products, such as mashed potatoes.
Last year, it invested about $7.5 million in an expansion and in November locked up a deal to distribute its potatoes to 28 Sam’s Club stores in the Northeast. The company has been a leader in adding value to raw food products by processing them in-state.
McCrum told Mainebiz that the 200-employee Pineland, which opened in 1995 under the name Naturally Potatoes, has set a goal “to be a food company, not just a potato company.”
Mainebiz named McCrum as the business leader among nominees for companies with 50 or more employees. It named co-founder of the Brunswick-based Gelato Fiasco, Josh Davis, as its small company business leader and University of New England President Danielle Ripich as its nonprofit business leader of the year.
Read more about each of the winners at Mainebiz.