The Gidney family has been processing and selling lobster since the late 1800s in this part of Nova Scotia. Gidney Fisheries Ltd. as it exists today was incorporated in 1981.
Gidney Fisheries buys its lobster from local fishermen, grades them to meet its high standards and processes them in its high-tech storage facilities to prepare for worldwide delivery.
In 2010, the company started exporting its main product — fresh and frozen lobster — to foreign markets. As it grew internationally, it began to expand into riskier territory in Asia.
“Some of those markets in the early years were very risky,” MacDonald said. “When you have orders as big as 26,000 pounds of lobster going out the door, you want to be sure you’re insured.”
At the time, Gidney Fisheries was using a private insurer for its accounts receivable, but it moved its business to EDC in 2013. The primary reason for doing so was to extend its operating line with its bank, but there were other benefits as well.