OUR HISTORY

The Founder of East Point Seafood Company, Erling H. Bendiksen, together with his brother, left his home in Kjerringoy, Norway in 1930 at the age of 20 to begin working on salmon fishing boats in Bristol Bay Alaska.  After being very successful in his salmon fishing endeavors, Mr. Erling Bendiksen invested his earnings purchasing oyster beds in Willapa Bay located in Southwest Washington State. 

In 1942 he purchased a cannery in South Bend, Washington, located at the head of Willapa Bay, where he established the company and brand name East Point Seafood.  By 1948, they had firmly established their line of Oyster products and began advertising and marketing their products.  They produced some of the finest Northwest seafood products, gaining a nationwide reputation.  As the years continued they added other seafood products including canned shrimp, canned salmon, canned tuna, canned sturgeon, and fresh and frozen Dungeness crab.  Smoked products also became a specialty of theirs.   

As the markets grew, East Point expanded adding several plants in Alaska over the years.  In the late 1980’s Mr. Bendiksen died, and to settle the estate, it was decided to sell the assets of the company.  Mr. Joel Van Ornum, a chemist by training, who had established and developed the chitin, chitosan, and glucosamine businesses around the world, decided to purchase the South Bend plant.  The shells from the East Point plant in South Bend were the source of the raw material for the manufacture of the chitin-based products.