About Our Family Business
With over 50 years of history, JK Thomson has come a long way from our humble beginnings by the harbour in the small fishing village of Port Seton
Established in Port Seton in 1962.
Nestled in the coastline that surrounds the beautiful county of East Lothian, Port Seton was once a thriving fishing port where dozens of vessels landed their daily catch of fresh fish and shellfish, which they sold to the many local fishmongers in the town, including J K Thomson.
James King Thomson soon realised the great potential there was to the small business his father had established and over the years he channelled his efforts into developing his customer base and product range. For years, his daily routine involved a 4am start heading into Newhaven fishmarket in Edinburgh. There he would sell his produce to the local merchants. After a full day of filleting in the “fish shed” he would then make the hour long drive, 40 miles down the East coast to the larger port of Eyemouth, just in time for the evening auction of the freshly landed catch from the trawlers.
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This would lay the foundations for building and expanding the business over the coming years.
An increase in product lines would lead to a much larger customer base and a growth in sales, so a move to larger premises was inevitable to accommodate the increasing workforce. The new premises, still in Port Seton, would be home to the business until the late 80’s when further expansion meant a move to the existing site in Musselburgh. Over the years, major developments have taken place to turn our factory into a modern, state of the art processing facility it is today.
Although the main focus of J K Thomson has always been on processing and wholesaling, there were up to 7 retail shops operating throughout the mid 80’s and 90’s also. These shops were located throughout East Lothian, in Port Seton, Tranent, Haddington and Dunbar and the J K Thomson name was well known for quality and service throughout the area. Now with the fourth generation working in the business and with over 150 employees, J K Thomson continues to go from strength to strength in the future.
