REGINA – When Lorne Thomson rides the crowded bullet trains in Japan, he thinks: “Look at all those customers.”
Those were Thomson’s words to the Canada-Japan Trade Council last week.
Just two years ago, the chief executive officer of Thomson Meats Ltd. of Melfort, Sask., had never been to Asia. Today, the Saskatchewan meat re-manufacturer has sold $3 million worth to the world’s largest food importer.
Thomson told the meeting that his Japanese orders began last October at just 500 kilograms a month. Now, the Japanese business has led to new machinery and additional shifts at the Melfort plant where 58 people are employed.
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Thomson’s barnstorming of the Japanese market has also netted him the title of Saskatchewan Business of the Year. The ABEX awards were given out by the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 29 in Regina.
After his first trip to Japan in May of 1993 with the Canadian Beef Export Federation, Thomson said he was quite negative about sales prospects.
The trip was preceded by a couple of significant internal events at the company: being accredited as a federally inspected meat handler by Agriculture Canada and going public. TML Foods Ltd. is the holding company for Thomson Meats and is traded on the Alberta Stock Exchange.
During the process of going public, Thomson sat down with his staff and wrote a five-year plan for the company. The “blue-sky” part of the plan was to have 25 percent of Thomson’s sales exported by 1998.
Initially, Thomson said he thought those exports would go to the United States. He thought language, culture and distance were all significant barriers to trade with Asia.
He came home from that first trip $10,000 poorer, without a single order. Particularly daunting was the idea it would be years before Japanese brokers and buyers entrusted him with their business.
Nevertheless, Thomson went back for a repeat visit in October, samples in hand. “I went over and said ‘this is what we can make for you. How do you want us to do it?'”
Being adaptable, Thomson said, is part of the advantage of being small. That first 500 kg order was finalized soon after.
Being Canadian was also helpful in the Japanese beef business where “pushy Americans” and “lofty Australians” dominate, he said.
“I learned to appreciate Canada’s reputation: clean, pristine, pure.”
Part of Thomson’s success is due to capitalizing on niche markets. His “beef bacon” is sold as part of modestly priced, pre-packaged lunches that are popular items in Japanese corner stores. About one-third of the company’s new business now goes to Japan.
Thomson is also working on developing new products for Japan using recipes given to him by his Japanese customer.
He is confident these products will succeed as well. In a year’s time, he predicted the company’s Japanese sales will reach $15 million.
