Welcome
Profish, an OceanPro Industries company is the premier seafood company in Washington DC. We are dedicated to bringing the finest, safest and most varied line of seafood to your table. With over twenty (20) years of business experience, Profish has established itself as a company responsive to the needs of its customers while maintaining a strict regimen of always striving to have the freshest available seafood product at a price that's always highly competitive.
With a 15,000 square foot warehouse located in Washington DC, Profish services over twenty–five hundred accounts. We maintain a fleet of twenty–four trucks and employ over ninety people. Our customer base is strong, loyal and growing every day. Our customers extend from New York City to Virginia Beach, and include Washington DC, Philadelphia, and all the major cities in between.
When it comes to experience, Profish has a combined 250 years of experience working as buyers and sellers – we know seafood. Just Meet our Staff and you'll see why we are leaders in our industry! We watch the Market Conditions and strive to provide the most up to date information possible. We see our customers as our partners and we provide unparalleled service and knowledge about the market and the industry.
Profish prides itself on its community involvement and community spirit. We have partnered with many organizations to help our local community grow and be more responsive to the basic needs of life. We see education as a cornerstone issue and have put our efforts – from DC Central Kitchen to the Restaurant Association Education Foundation, to the Ward 5 Business Association – Profish is a partner you can count on.
So come on aboard and join the Profish team – if you want to become a Profish customer, click on Register Here to sign up.
Company History
OceanPro Industries Ltd. was founded in November 1988 as Profish, Ltd. In the beginning Profish supplied only two seafood restaurants, both of which Casten operated. There was one pickup truck, a small thousand square foot facility, one 10 foot by 10 foot walk–in cooler, no computer and just two employees.
The first two years were quite difficult. The company was gaining new customers daily, developing operating systems and building a reputation of delivering both quality and service. While Casten focused on developing the infrastructure of the company, the company began to gain a foothold in the Greater Washington DC seafood market share.
It is here that the real development of OceanPro Industries began. Timothy Lydon was an associate of Casten. He had just graduated college and he was eager for an opportunity to grow a business with a "hands on" approach. Lydon and Casten had known each other only briefly, but the chemistry was instantaneous. Lydon and Casten worked well together. Lydon began operating the company on a day to day basis, Casten was responsible for management decisions and together they diligently worked on creating a strong, efficient business. Today Lydon and Casten have twenty years experience as side by side partners. Their philosophy was identical.
The philosophy was/is to build the business one customer at a time. OceanPro grew by providing the best seafood available (not always the least expensive) with service that would set the tone for the industry. The plan worked and the company began to grow at a tremendous pace. Our sales have consistently grown every year.
Without question the aggressive attitude of providing customers with unparalleled service was, and still is, the single biggest reason for our consistent growth. The best evidence of our commitment to service can be seen by our sending orders on the same day, in the specialty cuts we do, in the extra care with the packaging, and in the "whatever it takes" attitude we bring to our customers. We are also available for pickup on Sunday's. Seafood is extremely perishable and requires proper handling at all times to ensure the best product. Too many seafood houses do not properly handle seafood. Time and refrigeration are critical to the quality of seafood. In our opinion, the least amount of time between when a seafood product leaves our facility and the time it is consumed directly translates into superior quality. Therefore offering as extensive service as possible translates directly into a better product for our customer and the end consumer.
Purchasing is a critical issue when dealing with seafood. It takes experience to purchase seafood profitably. There are so many factors involved – the season, the weather, the consumer trend, the competition, the quality, the area of the source, the reputation of the source, the age of the product, the handling of the product, and so forth. Purchasing becomes significantly more efficient with experience. There is no substitution for the education of experience when purchasing seafood.
Another significant reason OceanPro has been able to grow its market share and build a strong customer base is people. The personnel at OceanPro are hard working, dedicated, company minded individuals who are keenly interested in the operations of the enterprise. Many individuals have been with the company over ten years. The turnover rate is extremely low. OceanPro strives to build a team environment where each and every individual is an integral component of the machine.
In the middle of 1995 both Casten and Lydon realized that to maintain growth, brand identity with the consumer would have to be established. Expertise in the development of recipes and cooking procedures would have to join the team.
Today OceanPro Industries Ltd. services over twenty–five hundred accounts. We maintain a fleet of twenty–four trucks and employ over ninety people. Our customer base is strong, loyal and growing every day. And most importantly, our commitment to service and quality is matched only by our commitment to build and develop the value–added business.
Meet Our Staff
| Gregory Casten (Partner) |
Timothy Lydon (Partner) |
| Glenn Casten (Sales Department) |
Edson Perez (Distribution) |
Raymond Lewis (Accounting) |
Carlos Melendez (Operations) |
Pedro Delcid (Processing) |
