Potential economic differences between current American fabrication specifications and Asian-inspired specifications are worth investigating as exports are a vital component to the American swine industry.

It was a tight race to the final day, but after the clock ticked to Aug. 1, 2017, and voting ended, Smithfield Foods’ hometown plant — the Smithfield, Va., processing facility — stood as the winner of The National Provisioner’s 2017 Plant of the Year award.

When James Jendruczek and Alan Bressler, owners of Trim-Rite Inc., envisioned the growth of their company, never did they believe they’d need to get into the slaughter business.