Seagate Story

Seagate(R) is the registered trademark of First Fishery, a seafood processor, fishing company, and supplement manufacturer established in 1981, and based in San Diego. The Seagate trademark and symbol have become better known than the name of the parent company, and have taken over as the identity of this company’s business. Seagate is unusual in the health food industry because we harvest and process our own raw materials, including cactus, grapes and olive leaves. A recent project, freeze-dried sweet organic carrot powder has even required that we operate our own organic farm in order to produce carrots that are 100% free of chemicals and pesticides. This company evolved from the experience of its founder, Richard Lentz, from his years building and operating food processing plants and fishing boats in Central America, Mexico, and the U.S. with a multinational company. A primary lesson that he learned was how to build factories in remote regions, where there were no roads, electricity, or even water, just to be as close as possible to the source of the raw materials, which is the key in order to produce the highest quality food products.

Seagate has been producing a diversity of products for over 33 years. The design and installation of our freeze-dryers, concentrators, pulverizers, and other vacuum equipment, that were necessary in order to process the shark cartilage byproduct from our own fishing operations in 1993, has also provided the capability to process, dry, and grind most other raw materials. Just as a note, we stopped our shark fishing in 2001. Whether we are working as the fisherman for our marine products or as the farmer for our herbs and vegetable products, we respect these gifts provided by Nature, which when properly processed and correctly used, will actively support your good health.

 

 

Company Founder and President: Richard Lentz

BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE

Having grown up in a large city during the era of Jacques Cousteau and Lloyd Bridges’ Sea Hunt, Richard’s plan was to study and become an oceanographer and live the romantic life at sea. During his summers, he worked as a diver and marine technician aboard oceanography ships. He graduated from Syracuse University in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Marine Science, and with a Masters in Resource Economics from the University of Rhode Island.

Although offered acceptance into the oceanography program at Woods Hole, he was more interested in catching and processing rather than studying marine life. Living among microscopes and samples bathed in formaldehyde on a rolling ship proved to be less exciting in real life.

After graduating college, Richard worked for 8 years with the Zapata Corp. as a project manager and plant manager assisting in the construction and operation of seafood plants and fishing vessels in Latin America and the U.S. This work included the development and construction of a $15 million fishmeal plant and vessel fleet in Baja California, and the operation of sardine factories in Maine. When Zapata Corp. began to sell-off their fishing subsidiaries in 1981, he was given the opportunity to return to Houston and work for their oil company. That was the moment in time when Richard decided to set up his own company in the fishing industry.