Meat + Poultry - June 2009 - 22

Gold rush
The 2009 Top 125 processors
By Joel Crews
jcrews@sosland.com

n compiling this year's Top 125 list,
which MEAT&POULTRY brought out
of the publishing mothballs in 2008
after a ﬁve-year hiatus, every attempt was
made to rank companies with processing
facilities in North America, rather than
limiting it to those only in the U.S. This
allows for the inclusion of major players
in the processing industry that may not
have facilities in the U.S., but nevertheless,
have a substantial impact on the global
market. Therefore, this list includes data
from ﬁrms such as Maple Leaf Farms, Lilydale, Inc., Exceldor Cooperative, Maple
Lodge Farms and Intercarnes (with one
plant in Mexico) to provide readers with
a broader perspective of the continental
industry players. The goal for the 2010
list is to grow the number of processors
included from Canada and Mexico. Companies are encouraged to contact M&P
22

MEAT&POULTRY

June 2009

to request a survey. Companies on this
year's ranking range from just under $27
billion in annual sales (Tyson Foods Inc.)
down to those hovering around $100 million in sales.
In light of some of the most challenging market conditions in recent memory,
some notable developments have occurred since publishing the 2008 list. A
brief snapshot of some of the top companies' challenges and successes are evident. Among them are the following:
* On March 14, Tyson Foods Inc. completed the sale of its Lakeside operation in Alberta, Canada, to XL Foods
Inc.; Richard Bond stepped down as
president and CEO of Tyson Jan 5,
2009; Leland Tollett is serving as the
company's interim president/CEO.
* Bill Rupp retired from his position
as president of Cargill Meat Solu-

www.MEATPOULTRY.com

tions Feb 1, 2009; his replacement
is Jody Horner.
* The attempted acquisition of National Beef Packing Co. by JBS was terminated Feb. 23; Richard Vesta was
appointed chief operating ofﬁcer of
JBS USA in early March. Vesta was
previously CEO of JBS Packerland following JBS' acquisition of Smithﬁeld
Foods' beef division in 2008.
* Smithﬁeld announced in March its
plans to cut $125 million in costs by
2011, in part by closing six plants during the course of the year and eliminating 1,800 jobs. On a positive note, in
early March the company announced
it would invest $7 million to expand its
Cumberland Gap plant in Middlesboro,
Ky., adding about 250 jobs.
* Pilgrim's Pride ﬁled for Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection in December
2008; Clint Rivers, president and CEO,
and Robert Wright, COO, resigned
Dec. 16; Don Jackson was appointed
to ﬁll both positions; Foster Farms purchased the Pilgrim's poultry complex
in Farmerville, La. for $72.3 million in
a deal that was ﬁnalized in May.
* Sara Lee Corp. recently announced
plans to invest $130 million to reopen
a former ConAgra Foods meat-processing facility in Kansas City, Kan., to operate as a sliced-meat plant
* In July, 2008, Simmons Foods acquired Peterson Farms' broiler operations, adding 17 million lbs. of production to its capacity

Committed to excellence
To say that generating an accurate list
is a daunting task could well be the
understatement of the century. M&P's
database manager began the task of
updating, correcting and reﬁning last
year's list this past January and any inaccuracies or oversights are not from any
lack of effort in contacting hundreds of
processors by phone, fax, mail and email. Readers are encouraged to request
a survey to be considered for inclusion
in the 2010 list.
We would like to hear from you - to comment on
this story or to request reprints, contact us by
e-mail at: meatpoultry@sosland.com.

http://www.MEATPOULTRY.com

Meat + Poultry - June 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meat + Poultry - June 2009