The meat and poultry industry faced a tough 2012, marked by historic drought conditions, rising feed costs and a national cattle shortage, according to Meat & Poultry magazine, a publication owned and operated by Sosland Publishing.
Market challenges led to plant closures for some top processors, including Cargill Meat Solutions, which earlier this year announced plans to cease operations at its Plainview, Texas, beef plant.
Other companies adapted by broadening their product portfolios. For example, Hormel Foods Corp. in January acquired the Skippy Peanut Butter brand from Unilever for $700 million. This past month, Tyson Foods, Inc. acquired the assets of Don Julio Foods, a tortilla and salty snack maker.
Meat & Poultry’s annual Top 100 Ranking of the leading companies reflects the industry’s evolution during challenging times.
1 Tyson Foods, Inc.
Annual sales: $33.3 billion
Employees: 115,000
Plants: 84
Headquarters: Springdale, Ark.
Chief officer: Donnie Smith
Species: Beef, chicken, pork
Products: Bacon, battered/breaded products, canned meats, cured/cooked beef, cured/cooked pork, cured/cooked poultry, ham, luncheon meats/loaves, prepared meals, rendering/byproducts, sausage-cooked, skinless/boneless poultry
www.tyson.com
2 JBS USA
Annual sales: $31.3 billion*
Employees: 61,959
Plants: 47
Headquarters: Greeley, Colo.
Chief officer: Andre Nogueira
Species: Beef, chicken, lamb, pork
Products: Bacon, rendering/byproducts
www.jbssa.com
3 Cargill Meat Solutions
Annual sales: $18 billion
Employees: 35,000
Plants: 33
Headquarters: Wichita, Kas.
Chief officer: Jody Horner
Species: Beef, chicken, pork, turkey
Products: Bacon, battered/breaded products, cured/cooked beef, cured/cooked pork, cured/cooked poultry, ham, luncheon meats/loaves, rendering/byproducts, sausage-cooked, sausage-fresh, sausage-traditional, skinless/boneless poultry
www.cargill.com
4 Smithfield Foods, Inc.
Annual sales: $13.09 billion
Employees: 46,050
Plants: 40
Headquarters: Smithfield, Va.
Chief officer: C. Larry Pope
Species: Pork
Products: Bacon, canned meats, cured/cooked pork, ham, luncheon meats/loaves, prepared meals, rendering/byproducts, sausage-cooked, sausage-fresh, sausage-traditional
www.smithfieldfoods.com
5 Sysco Corp.
Annual sales: $11.8 billion*
Employees: Not reported
Plants: Not reported
Headquarters: Houston
Chief officer: Richard J. Schnieders
Species: Beef, chicken, pork, turkey
Products: Battered/breaded products, cured/cooked beef, cured/cooked pork, cured/cooked poultry, ham, luncheon meats/loaves, sausage-cooked, sausage-fresh, sausage-traditional, skinless/boneless poultry
www.sysco.com
6 ConAgra Foods, Inc.
(Consumer Foods Segment)
Annual sales: $8.2 billion*
Employees: Not reported
Plants: Not reported
Headquarters: Omaha
Chief officer: Gary M. Rodkin
Species: Beef, chicken, pork, turkey
Products: Battered/breaded products, cured/cooked beef, cured/cooked pork, cured/cooked poultry, luncheon meats/loaves, prepared meals, sausage-cooked, sausage-fresh, sausage-traditional
www.conagra.com
7 Hormel Foods Corp.
Annual sales: $8.2 billion
Employees: 19,700
Plants: 42
Headquarters: Austin, Minn.
Chief officer: Jeffrey M. Ettinger
Species: Beef, pork, turkey
Products: Bacon, canned meats, cured/cooked beef, cured/cooked pork, cured/cooked poultry, ham, luncheon meats/loaves, prepared meals, rendering/byproducts, sausage-cooked, sausage-fresh, sausage-traditional, skinless/boneless poultry
www.hormelfoods.com
8 National Beef Packing Co., L.L.C.
Annual sales: $6.8 billion
Employees: 9,000
Plants: 6
Headquarters: Kansas City
Chief officer: Tim Klein
Species: Beef
Products: Not reported
www.nationalbeef.com
9 Keystone Foods, L.L.C.
Annual sales: $6.3 billion*
Employees: 7,075
Plants: 13
Headquarters: West Conshohocken, Pa.
Chief officer: Larry McWilliams
Species: Beef, chicken, seafood
Products: Battered/breaded products, cured/cooked poultry, skinless/boneless poultry
www.keystonefoods.com
10 OSI Group, L.L.C.
Annual sales: $5.9 billion
Employees: 19,400
Plants: 46
Headquarters: Aurora, Ill.
Chief officer: Sheldon Lavin
Species: Beef, chicken, pork
Products: Bacon, battered/breaded products, cured/cooked beef, cured/cooked pork, cured/cooked poultry, ham, luncheon meats/loaves, prepared meals, sausage-cooked, sausage-traditional, skinless/boneless poultry
www.osigroup.com
