The Greatest Gains Report

The meat and poultry companies on this list have shown particularly strong sales growth over the last two fiscal years. Although this list comprises mostly processors who appear in the Top 100 Report, we have decided to incorporate smaller processors who did not appear as well, as a way to demonstrate the full scope of the meat and poultry industry.

Greatest Gains Success Stories:

• Rantoul Foods LLC added an animal byproduct conversion facility, a CO2 stunner and a new cut floor.

• Sanderson Farms Inc. selected sites in Smith and Wood Counties, Texas for construction of a new feed mill, hatchery, poultry processing plant and waste water treatment facility. The company is investing approximately $200 million in the new complex, which began construction in 2017 and will begin operations in the first quarter of 2019.

• Burgers’ Smokehouse is adding 40,000 square feet to its headquarters in California, Mo., and has leased an additional 30,000 square feet in Springfield, Mo.

• Jensen Meat Co. enjoyed record sales in 2017. The company launched two new Certified Angue Beef items into retail and launched a Beef & Bacon Burger, co-branded with Slater’s 50/50.

• Greater Omaha Packing Co. is constructing a 65,000-box automated storage and retrieval system.

• In September 2017, Seaboard Foods LLC, with its strategic partner, opened the Seaboard Triumph Foods Sioux City, Iowa, fresh pork processing plant. In addition, Seaboard Foods launched a new foodservice brand of fully cooked smoked meats under the Quick Fire brand and introduced a new brand look for its fully cooked and smoked retail brand 67th Street BBQ made with Sweet Baby Ray’s.

• Rastelli Foods Group launched two new retail products, which are now in over 5,000 grocers: Bubba’s Q Boneless Baby Back Ribs (Original and Honey BBQ) and Rastelli Butcher Shop Craft Burgers (Salmon, Turkey, Short Rib, Angus and Organic Grass Fed. The company is the top-growing food company on QVC and experienced record ecommerce sales and co-packing for top food home delivery programs.

• Trim-Rite Food Corp. acquired more land and opened a new employee & customer care area.

• Kenosha Beef International Ltd. enjoyed a record sales volume in 2017.

• Production at Case Foods’ Canton, Ohio, plant increased 23 percent, thanks to the company’s continued expansion efforts.

• CS Beef Packers, a joint venture between Caviness Beef Packers Ltd. and J.R. Simplot Co., started operations in May 2017.

• Golden West Food Group experienced growth in all the core areas of meat, both raw and fully cooked. The year saw renewed interest in branded products after last year’s growth in private label. “Americans are consuming record amounts of beef and animal proteins and GWFG is supplying this demand using the latest innovations in packaging with our Darfresh raw meat capability as well as at the high end for beef with Certified Angus Beef, Organic, Never Ever and Snake River Farms meats,” the company said.

• Smithfield Foods Inc. fulfilled its commitment of providing group housing systems for pregnant sows on all company-owned farms in the United States. To celebrate this accomplishment in sustainability, Smithfield released a 360-degree, virtual reality video that transports viewers to a company sow farm. The video can be viewed at SmithfieldFoods360.com.

• Smithfield launched several new, innovative platforms in 2017, including Smithfield Bioscience and Smithfield Renewables. Throughout 2017, Smithfield introduced nearly 150 new products, including Smithfield Breakfast Sandwiches, Nathan’s Toppers, Eckrich Spicy Pineapple Ham, Carando Genoa Salami, as well as Smithfield Pork Belly, Smithfield Marinated Center Cut Chops, Smithfield Dry Seasoned Ribs, and a full line of products raised without antibiotics under the Pure Farms brand and private label.

• Old World Provisions launched a new brand, Old World Naturals.

Highlights from the rest of the Top 100 companies

• Abbyland Foods Inc. opened a new sausage production facility to increase its summer sausage capacity.

• Bell & Evans announced in November that it is converting 100% of its chickens to a new, higher-welfare breed. On Jan. 23, 2018, the first Das Klassenbester chickens were processed at its harvesting plant. The company will be fully converted to the new breed within the next year. Bell & Evans also broke ground on a new chicken harvesting plant that will open in early 2020. At full capacity, it will be able to process another 2.6 million birds per week in addition to the 1 million processed today. “To accommodate this expansion, we’re also expanding our breeding and grow out programs with farmers. One area of planned expansion is our organic line of products,” the company said.

• Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. expanded its cooked meats facility in Nashville, Tenn., a beef processing facility in Columbia, S.C., and egg processing facilities in Big Lake, Minn. and Mason City, Iowa. The company also dedicated a $111 million cooked meats facility in Columbus, Neb. It repositioned its Rumba Meats brand with new packaging and products. The company also conducted a fresh whole turkey blockchain traceability pilot project for the 2017 holiday season and started a Canadian beef traceability/sustainability pilot project.

• Colorado Premium started a new cooked meat facility in Carrolton, Ga.

• Cooper Farms completed its new Distribution Center in St. Henry, Ohio, and a production volume increase at the Cooked Meats Plant in Van Wert. The company also continued its live turkey and hog expansion programs.

• Dakota Provisions LLC finished an $8.5 million freeze/storage expansion as well as the substantial completion of a 70,000-square-foot ready-to-eat plant for $35 million.

• Eddy Packing Co. purchased new line equipment for a mass-market private label roll out and expanded a dry warehouse. The company continues its BRC A Rating and saw increases in private-label business and new technology to improve efficiencies.

• Farmington Foods completed the expansion of its ready-to-eat facility in 2017.

• To support growth in the foodservice channel, Hormel Food Corp. acquired Fontanini Italian Meats and Sausages, a Chicago-based company specializing in authentic, premium Italian meatballs and sausages. The company also made its first acquisition in South America with Ceratti, a premium deli meats brand headquartered in Brazil. Hormel said the acquisition will help drive sales and earnings growth while serving as a platform for future acquisitions in South America.

• The House of Raeford Farms plant in Wallace, N.C., is being rebuilt following a fire in February 2017. It will re-open this summer.

• Indiana Packers Corp. constructed a 99,000-square-foot cold-storage distribution center attached to its Delphi plant.

• John Soules Foods Inc. acquired a new facility in Valley, Ala. The planned start-up date is 2020.

• Johnsonville LLC completed the expansion of its global headquarters building.

• JTM Food Group completed the construction of an 80,000-square-foot processing plant/9,000 pallet storage freezer at the cost of $80 million.

• Mountaire Farms Inc. bought a plant in Siler City, N.C., and is in the process of renovating it. The company also bought two grain elevators in Virginia and announced plans to build a new feed mill in Scotland County, N.C.

• OSI Group LLC opened a new GenOSI facility in the Philippines to replace an old plant in June 2017. The company also doubled chicken production capacity in OSI Spain plant in 2017, through a building addition of over 22,000 square feet. The plant now has a production capacity of 24,000 tons annually.

• Strauss Brands Inc. enjoyed record sales, thanks in part to new customers and growth in e-commerce sales.

• Swaggerty Sausage Co. opened new regional markets and customers. The company increased its foodservice channel with fully cooked items, and all natural items posted double-digit increase over prior year.

• Williams Sausage Co. is building a new $40 million distribution/sandwich-processing plant in Union City, Tenn. Expected completion is August 2018.