Frank Perdue, Former President of Perdue Farms Inc., Died on March 31, Following a Brief Illness at the age of 84. at the Time of his Death, he was Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Perdue Farms.

The hands-on CEO became well-known as a company spokesman, appearing in radio and print ads, as well as more than 200 television commercials. Among his memorable lines is, “It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken.”

Perdue took a family backyard egg business and transformed it into the nation’s fourth-largest food processor. In 1991, when he turned control of the company over to his son, Jim, sales were $1.2 billion.

“Frank Perdue was a giant in the chicken industry,” said George Watts, National Chicken Council president. “With his strong commitment to quality, reliance on a brand name, and aggressive marketing and advertising, Perdue was a leader in revolutionizing the way chicken is raised and sold, and had a lasting impact on the American diet”

Samuel (Sam) Barliant, 90, founder of Barliant & Co. and the man who made “used machinery” a common solution for many meat and poultry packers and processors, died on Tuesday, Feb. 22, in Boca Raton, FL.

Over the decades, Barliant was chronicled many times in the pages in The NATIONAL PROVISIONER.

“I don’t think ‘used’ is a dirty word,” he once said, adding that the reason behind his success was integrity.

Barliant graduated from Chicago’s John Marshall Law School in 1936. He was admitted to the bar as the state’s youngest lawyer at 21 years of age. That year, he also went to work for the E.G. James Co. brokerage firm as a secretary. When Armour, Cudahy, Swift, and other meat packers called his brokerage company about selling and buying used equipment, Barliant suggested to his superiors that E.G. James Co. provide such a service. But they weren’t interested.

Barliant later decided to start his own business, and his idea has since become a respected and essential part of the meat-processing business. In 1937, Barliant & Co. was formed. He called on companies using grinders, slicers, and curing vats to see if they wanted to buy or exchange this equipment for other used equipment. In the process, he became the middle-man between the buyer and seller.

Armour & Co. was Barliant’s first customer, and his impressive list of customers -as well as his business - grew from there. Built on need, trust, and integrity, Barliant & Co. became the clearing house of the meat industry.

In the early 1980s, Barliant began the process of turning his company over to Tom Baumgartner. In 1987, the sale of Barliant & Co. to Baumgartner was completed.

John Seiffhart, a well-known and highly respected German Masterbutcher, passed away just short of his 92nd birthday after a lengthy illness. He was first mentioned in the NATIONAL PROVISIONER in the November 19, 1949 issue for pioneering pre-packaged sausage meats.

After decades in leading management positions in U.S. meat companies, including Smithfield, Hygrade, Jewel Food Stores, Goehring Meat and others, Seiffhart joined BK Ladenburg Corp. (now BK Giulini Corp.) as senior technical consultant. In this capacity he was instrumental in developing several new meat processing aids and providing technical assistance to many major U.S. meat packers.

Walter Eugene (Gene) Brown, president of Brown Packing Co., Gaffney, SC, died on March 16 of cancer at the age of 70. He helped grow the company, which was founded by his father, Walter, in 1942, into one of the Cherokee County’s most successful companies, and it is now among the largest privately owned beef packing operations in the nation. Brown was involved in the meat industry for nearly 50 years and was a member of the American Meat Institute Board of Directors for 25 years.

Chuck Jolley has opened a marketing and public relations office after almost 30 years in the food industry marketing and public relations business. Jolley & Associates will concentrate on developing business-to-business marketing with a “full-court press” attitude for companies serving the meat and poultry industry. The company will create marketing and public relations campaigns and offer assistance with corporate communications programs and special event planning. For more information, call (913) 205-3791, or e-mail crjolley@msn.com

Mark Lowden, a 20-year veteran of capital goods sales in the meat processing industry, has been named southeast regional manager at Weber Inc. and will be responsible for sales in 10 southeastern states. He will assist large and mid-sized processors or red meat, poultry, and cheese with the selection and customization of slicing machinery. In addition, Terry Albrecht has been named product manager for Weber’s line of skinners, de-rinders and ice flaking machines. He will have nationwide responsibility for sales, assisting beef, pork, poultry, and seafood processors with the selection of Weber machinery.

Jorgen Zachariassen has been appointed president of Linco Food Systems Inc., a Linco-owned subsidiary. He has been with Linco since 1986 and previously served as vice president of marketing and business development. Zachariassen replaces Frans Verhaegh, who had been president for four years and remains president and shareholder of Tieleman Food Equipment, now a Linco subsidiary.

Fort Dearborn Co. appointed Michael Anderson as chief operating officer. As COO, he will be responsible for the company’s operations, sales, and marketing efforts. The company states that the hiring is part of the progression of evolving from a small, privately owned, family-run business to a larger, professionally managed organization.