McCain left mark on potato industry

By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
    EASTON — Employees of McCain Foods Limited are mourning the loss of co-founder G. Wallace F. McCain, who in 1956 with his brother, Harrison, started what has become the world’s largest manufacturer of frozen potato specialties.
    McCain died Friday in Toronto at the age of 81. Harrison died in 2004.
    “We hold Wallace close to our hearts,” said Dale Morrison, president and chief executive officer of McCain Foods Limited. “Our thoughts and deepest sympathies go out to his wife, Margaret, and her family for their loss.
    “Wallace was a visionary, a philanthropist and an icon of Canadian business, but to many of us here he was our neighbor, friend, colleague and mentor. His contributions to the success of McCain are immeasurable,” Morrison said. “He created many opportunities for many people. We will miss him. The best way I can think of to honor his memory is to continue building on the legacy he left behind. The spirit of our founders will live in all that we do.”
    An international leader in the frozen food industry, McCain employs 20,000 people and operates 50 production facilities on six continents. In addition to its frozen potato products, the company also makes frozen pizza, appetizers, oven meals, juice and desserts. The company’s products can be found in thousands of restaurants and supermarket freezers in more than 160 countries around the world.
    McCain Foods has had an immeasurable presence in Easton for 35 years.
    According to its website, McCain acquired the Easton plant in 1976. Currently one of the largest frozen potato operations on the East Coast, the 560,500 square foot Easton facility employs approximately 530 people.
    Longtime Easton potato grower Gaylen Flewelling said McCain Foods Limited is the “life blood” of the town.
    “McCain employs a lot of people here and the amount of taxes that they pay is a tremendous help to us,” he said. “Plus for growers it’s a good, close, consistent market. You know what the quality’s got to be each year … each year it’s got to be a little better and hopefully the negotiated price is high enough to make a profit.
    “McCain has always been a good, corporate citizen. They pay their taxes and don’t complain and they keep their buildings clean,” he said. “They have a groundskeeper that works all the time just cleaning the buildings. It’s a top-notch operation.”
    Flewelling met Wallace McCain several years ago at the McCain Top 10 Potato Growers Banquet in Presque Isle.
    “Any time Wallace spoke at a grower’s meeting, he was always very positive on the potato industry and positive on Maine,” said Flewelling. “He was one of the first ones to say that we could grow potatoes in Maine as good as they could in the West. He kept pounding that into us growers and he made believers out of us.
    “If you had a meeting, Harrison would be the flamethrower and Wallace would be the fire extinguisher,” he said. “That was just their personalities, but when you would sit down and talk with Wallace, it was all business, but very casual. He was a great businessman.”
    Flewelling, who has grown potatoes in Easton for 60 years, has contracted with McCain Foods Limited “since they came to town.” The local plant contracts with 55 other growers.
    “We used to contract with F.H. Vahlsing which built the plant here,” he said, “and when McCain came and bought it from Vahlsing, we continued contracting for that plant through McCain’s.
    “Wallace’s passing will leave a void in the potato industry and the Easton community,” said Flewelling.
    Easton Town Manager Jim Gardner called McCain “an outstanding businessman.”
    “I met Wallace McCain while I was town manager in Washburn and Harrison and Wallace made an appearance in Washburn concerning the pea refinery in Washburn,” Gardner said. “He was an outstanding businessman, very quiet and thought that everyone deserved a fair chance in life. Washburn went through the process of bidding on the $100 million expansion McCain’s was soon to construct in Aroostook County. Again a very fine businessman who knew what it took to become a successful company.
    “Wallace was very philanthropic to all in need. Easton is the home of McCain USA and very proud of it,” he said. “It is a very sad time in the town of Easton as we have lost a very special person. Our prayers and thoughts go out to all the extended McCain family.”
    McCain was born in Florenceville, New Brunswick, where the first McCain Foods frozen french fry plant was built and began operating in 1957. In that first year, the plant employed 30 people and produced 1,500 pounds of product per hour. McCain foods earned sales of $152,678 that year and processes 360 million pounds of potatoes at the Easton plant annually.
    Funeral services will be held Friday in Toronto. To learn more about McCain’s life, memorial arrangements or to leave messages of condolence, visit www.wallacemccaintribute.ca.