Buchanan named president of Black River Produce

Black River Produce has a new president, and he’s a potatoes — and meat — kind of guy.
http://rutlandherald.com/article/20140902/NEWS02/709029988

Published September 2, 2014 in the Rutland Herald Buchanan named president of Black River Produce By SUSAN SMALLHEER Staff Writer NORTH SPRINGFIELD — Black River Produce has a new president, and he’s a potatoes — and meat — kind of guy. Sean Buchanan, who has been with the company for more than five years, was promoted to the president’s position Friday, effective immediately. Previously, Buchanan was the specialty food company’s business development manager. Buchanan, a former executive chef at Stowe Mountain Lodge, has shepherded the company’s latest expansion into the world of meat. “That’s kind of my baby,” he said of Black River Meats, which is located in the former Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc., plant in the North Springfield Industrial Park. The new slaughterhouse and processing facility is a partnership with Vermont Packinghouse to produce local, natural meats. Buchanan will take over the day-to-day running of the company from founders Mark Curran and Steve Birge, who started Black River Produce 35 years ago with the motto “Give Peas A Chance.” Both men will remain very active in the company, said Buchanan, with Curran working on the company’s procurement and physical expansion plans, which will include a new warehouse in coming years, Buchanan said. Birge is working on the company’s software needs and pricing. “Sean has been an invaluable manager through a time of dynamic change for our company,” said Birge, the co-owner. “Our company and customers demand strong logistical skills, personal integrity and a keen culinary palate.” “Sean’s mastery of these attributes, plus his appealing sense of humor, make him the right candidate for leading our company into a time of growth,” Birge said. Black River Produce moved to North Springfield from Cavendish about seven years ago. It took over the former home of Idlenot Farm Dairy, which had gone out of business several years earlier. Buchanan said that Black River Meats now represents about 10 percent of the firm’s business and is growing. He estimated that next year it would be 13 to 15 percent of the company’s business. Another fast-growing segment of the food business is specialty cheeses, he said. Buchanan said the company’s mission is to keep the region’s chefs and specialty food buyers happy. He said two staffers recently spent the entire day trying to fulfill one chef’s desire of chocolate-covered insects. “Two people spent the day trying to track them down,” he said. They didn’t have any luck, he said. “Chefs call us with requests for micro-cilantro and we find it for them,” he said. Curran and Birge were named SBA Small Business Owners of the Year in 2004; this year Curran was named the 2014 recipient of the Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility Terry Ehrich Award for Excellence. “We are a pretty progressive company,” said Buchanan.