The shift toward direct marketing in the fishing industry has created new opportunities for makers of smaller ice and RSW machines. "A lot of people are moving to the direct-marketing model," said Lars Matthiesen of Highland Refrigeration in Seattle."We're selling a lot of small units in the 2,500-3,000 pound range." Direct marketing appeals to small boat operators because the profit margins are much higher for limited quantities of product, but they are no threat to bigger processors. When large amounts of product show up on the seasonal cycles and depress prices in the larger market, there is no substitute for a larger processor's storage capacity.
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