Meat&Poultry - November 2012 - 10

Business Notes

Perdue deals Alabama plant to Wayne Farms
Perdue Farms announced the company sold its Dothan, Ala.-based chicken processing facility to Wayne Farms LLC. Both companies expect the sale to close Dec. 1. The sale includes the Dothan processing plant, hatchery and a feed mill and grow-out office in DeFuniak Springs, Fla. Perdue said the company will continue to operate a hatchery in Samson, Ala., and to support a processing plant in Perry, Ga. Officials with Perdue said the closing will not affect the company’s breeder operations in Florida and Alabama. The sale is in line with Perdue’s strategy to expand the company’s premium-branded and value-added products, which include all-vegetarianfed chicken within the Perdue brand. Perdue also has new lines of prepared products, plus antibiotic-free chicken, turkey and pork and, most recently, organic chicken. “The Perdue brand is the No. 1 brand of fresh chicken in the US,” said Jim Leighton, president, Perdue Foods. “Over the past two years, we’ve expanded distribution of our branded products across the US, and we’ve also become the leader in both antibioticfree and organic chicken. “We are actively pursuing a strategy to elevate our products and brands and to build relationships with customers who recognize the value of those brands and the trust in the Perdue name,” Leighton added. The Dothan facility primarily supplies commodity-based products. Perdue plans to consolidate branded and value-added production from Dothan into existing capacity at other Perdue facilities, especially those with lower grain-transportation costs and all-vegetarian-fed programs, the company said. The sale will not affect Perdue’s customers. Wayne Farms is the fifth-largest, vertically integrated poultry producer in the US with annual sales of more than $1.4 billion. The company operates 10 fresh and further-processed poultry facilities throughout the Southeastern US, and produces more than 1.8 billion lbs. of poultry products per year. ■

Cargill CFO resigns to lead Seara Foods
The retirement of Sergio Rial, CFO of Cargill was announced Nov. 2. On Nov. 7, Rial was appointed CEO of Marfrig Group’s Seara Foods Business Division, based in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Seara Foods is the processed food division of the Marfrig Group and includes Seara Brasil, Keystone Foods and MoyPark. David MacLennan, president and chief operating officer, will serve as interim CFO until the Cargill’s board of directors elects a successor, the company said. Rial led Cargill’s group of food businesses since 2004 and Cargill’s financial services businesses since 2009. He became a senior vice president and member of the Cargill Leadership Team in 2009. He also was the company’s regional director for Latin America and was executive chairman of CarVal Investors, a Cargill subsidiary. He was named CFO in 2011. MacLennan will continue as Cargill’s president and COO while in the interim role. In his new position, Rial will be responsible for Seara Foods’ consolidation into a single company, which he will be leading as executive president. ■

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Meat&Poultry - November 2012

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