Smithfield Foods is a global company for food. It is one of the largest pork processor and hog producers in the world. Joseph W Luter in Virginia, United States, found it in 1936. It serves worldwide. The main hubs where it serves are Mexico, Poland, Romania, Germany, and UK.
Assets of the company
The company owns 500 farms in the United States. In addition, 2,000 contract farms are independent and growing pigs. The company gave employment to 50,200 people in the year 2016. In the same year, the company’s revenue was $14 billion. The company has its meat-processing unit in Tar Heel, North Carolina. The size of the unit is 9,73,000 square foot. It produces 32,000 pigs in a day.
History
The growth of Smithfield foods began in 1981 and bought Gwaltney. They bought 40 companies between 1981 and 2008. The acquisition involved companies such as Farmland Foods, Eckrich, John Morrell, Murphy Family Farms, Circle Four Farms and Premium Standard Farms. The company grew as it was having highest pig production because of industrialization.
In 2006, Smithfield increased 15 million pigs a year and produced about six billion pounds of pork. The company sells its products under many brands. In 2013, Smithfield Foods was sold to WH group for $4.72 billion. Kenneth M. Sullivan is the CEO of the company.
Pig Production
Between 1990 and 2005, the company expanded by more than 1000 percent. The expansion was a result of the beginning of buying hog farming operations. It made the company vertically integrated. The integration helps the company to control various stages of pig production such as conception, birth, and slaying, processing as well as packing.
The company had a contract with farmers who recently came out of tobacco farming and sent them eight to ten weeks old piglets. The ownership of piglets was with a company only as farmers were on a contract basis. Vertical integration insured high quality.
Housing
Pigs are kept in thousand alike barns having metallic roofs. It is known as concentrated animal nourishing procedures. The floors of barns are slatted. This allows waste to flush into 30ft. deep.
Smithfield foods mainly deal in best quality pork, which is delivered worldwide. In addition, many people trust this brand as it has great value and taste. It offers best-packaged pork. It offers reasonable prices and already has a reputation. Over many Years Company has maintained such a great brand image that consumers prefer to buy products from this company.
The products of Smithfield Foods are sold under various brand names such as Eckrich, Farmland, Nathan’s, Armour, Farmer John and many more. In short, the process of Smithfield Foods can be explained as it starts with hog production, further pork is processed and then it is packed. Lastly, it is served to customers and they are satisfied with it. The company has leading shares in the market among packaged meat product category. The company’s good production is a result of high-quality raw material. The company is adopting new techniques as well to increase sales.
