Two years after its acquisition by AdvancePierre Foods, the former Landshire sandwich-assembly plant in Caseyville, Ill., has embarked on a more stable and measured — but crucial to the company’s success — course for expansion and growth.
Part of the selling point for AdvancePierre Foods (APF) to potential investors leading up to the company’s initial public offering (IPO) last year was the claim that APF was a veritable expert on acquiring smaller companies, integrating them quickly and maximizing synergies to grow the business, having done so frequently in recent years.
In the fall of 2016, APF made its first acquisition as a public company (Philly-steak processor Allied Specialty Foods of Vineland, N.J.), and one can expect investors to watch that integration closely. However, two major acquisitions from 2015 (Landshire and Better Bakery) were pranced in front of pre-IPO investors as prime evidence of the company’s capability as an acquirer.