Meat+Poultry - September 2019 - 24

COVER STORY

from SuKarne, it is safe," he says.
As the company increases its global
presence it has recently pursued establishing
a quality grading system that is comparable
to standards recognized in their customers'
markets. Based on investments already made
in technology, SuKarne is now able to meet
customer requests to provide a product with
specific marbling and tenderness specifications
and traceability requirements extending back
to the farm.

PEOPLE POWERED

The Mexicali plant features
Marel's StreamLine
system, where stations
are designated for either
trimming or deboning.

MEAT+ POULTRY | 09.19 | www.meatpoultry.com

SuKarne

commitment to maximizing efficiencies and
ensuring quality is evident. Through the years,
the company's operations have evolved toward
producing and supplying US-caliber middle
meat products at a price point that is accessible
to more consumers north of its border, and all
the boxes have been checked to allow it to now
take that next strategic step. Since establishing
the infrastructure, SuKarne has proven its ability to supply the US retail market with Select
equivalent or better steaks for $4-$6 per lb.
In 2012, 2015 and 2018, SuKarne
methodically made significant investments
in technology and systems to ensure quality
and food safety, including measuring marbling
using the CVS BeefCam, electrical stimulation
of carcasses, monitoring and measuring pH,
monitoring carcass chilling and testing to
confirm beef tenderness using shear-force
testing. In terms of food safety, SuKarne has
invested about $40 million in the past five years
to comply with globally recognized certifications that include ISO 9001 and BRC (British
Retail Consortium). SuKarne has also earned
the US Customs and Border Protection's
Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism
(CTPAT) certification. Botero says 100 percent
of all beef exported from Mexico, including
SuKarne's, is visually inspected by US Dept.
of Agriculture (USDA) officials and 10 percent
is sampled. "We have very good relationships
with USDA's inspectors. If you're buying beef

Another investment made by the company
was putting the right people in key positions.
To oversee the expansive operations at all its
plants, SuKarne looked outside the meat industry and hired Marco Gomez as the director of
manufacturing processes.
"I'm an expert on potatoes and cookies,"
jokes Gomez, who left an operations executive
role with PepsiCo to join SuKarne about
four months ago. "Now I am learning about
meat," pointing out that his experience in food
manufacturing spans 25 years.
In comparing the role at PepsiCo with his
position at SuKarne, he says the companies
are similar in annual revenues, but that the
operations and the pace of the companies are
very different. "Service is very different in this
industry. I thought PepsiCo was fast," he says,
"but this is like Formula 1."
After spending 23 years with PepsiCo
where he was responsible for overseeing 14
plants, a recruiter approached Gomez about
the opportunity to lead operations at SuKarne.
He was impressed that the owner of the
company would consider bringing in someone
from outside the industry who had the skills
needed to help the company succeed.
"The challenge was very big," he recalls,
"but the decision was easy."
Once in the door, he knew the importance
of learning at lightning speed and always focusing on quality, food safety and worker safety.
Being responsible for more than 7,000
people across six vertically integrated beef
plants, Gomez says the emphasis and focus of
everyone involved is quality, food safety and
service. "That's what we are here for; to service
our clients and consumers with the best
quality and the best price. We have to make
that happen."

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Meat+Poultry - September 2019

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