Company Overview

Company Overview/History

Clear Springs Trout Company was started by Jess O. (Ted) Eastman and a group of investors in September of 1966. At that time Ted’s goal was to raise 400,000 lbs of Rainbow Trout and sell them to the processor where he had previously worked for twenty years. They decided not to buy his fish, so he built a small processing operation. Ted won…they lost. In 1981 Clear Springs Trout Company purchased Ted’s former employer 1000 Springs Trout Farms. The company name was changed in 1991 from Clear Springs Trout Company to Clear Springs Foods, Inc. opening the door for expansion beyond Rainbow Trout. In August of 2000 ownership changed from a closely held private company to a privately held employee owned company.

Today Clear Springs Foods is the world’s largest producer of aquacultured Rainbow Trout in the world. Producing in excess of 20,000,000 pounds annually in its U.S. facilities Clear Springs is a vertically integrated company. From our state-of-the-art farms, feed manufacturing, cut trout processing plant, specialty products processing plant and fish health and product research facilities, our dedicated people/owners are the key to our success. They are committed to producing the highest quality products available.

Clear Springs’ commitment to sustainability and reducing its carbon footprint is best demonstrated by its newest byproducts production facility. This operation allows us to utilize 100% of the trout viscera, fish scraps and farm mortality which is turned into Clear Organic™ liquid fish fertilizer sold to Organic farmers. For more information, contact Ed White: 208-543-4316.

Farm Operations

Broodstock Facility--At the Soda Springs, Idaho brood station, Clear Springs is capable of producing more than 80 million Rainbow Trout eggs a year. This facility also includes a brood stock selection program to select the best trout families.

Production Farms--Rainbow Trout are raised in concrete raceways fed by an abundance of spring water. A patented, automated feed system distributes feed to the fish throughout the day. Production farms are continually monitored and inventoried to provide highly accurate production forecasts.

In addition, we have partnered with farms in Argentina and Chile in which trout is raised following the exact same high standards as our farms in Idaho.

Feed Manufacturing

Clear Springs operates its own feed mill to guarantee that each fish receives a consistent diet of the highest quality, most nutritious food. Ingredients include fish meal, fish oils, meat and poultry proteins, vitamins and minerals, and the high protein formulas are constantly being upgraded. Our Quality Assurance Department routinely tests the taste and texture of market fish to ensure that feed formulations produce great tasting products for our customers.

Research & Development

Clear Springs® state-of-the-art Center for Global Aquaculture Research and Quality Assurance produces vaccines, monitors water quality in the springs, the farms, and the Snake River, and provides an array of fish health and support services to the farms. Research projects are ongoing in the areas of nutrition, waste management, genetics, and fish culture. The research division provides a complement of quality assurance services to the other divisions of the company as well as our partners in Chile and Argentina.

Processing Plant

Both the Trout Processing and Specialty Products plants as well as the plants of our Chilean and Argentinean partners operate under a strict HACCP quality assurance program. These plants are regularly inspected by outside independent auditors as required by a number of our foodservice and retail customers.

Distribution

Clear Springs operates its own fleet of refrigerated trucks to deliver our products to customers across the country. Most on a twice a week basis.

Sales & Marketing

Clear Springs supports the sale of its products through a national network of regional sales managers and broker sales representatives. We provide ongoing product support through merchandising materials and recipe development.