Highlights from the Greatest Gains List

• PROPORTION FOODS had record sales in 2019 as the company continued to recover from its relocation to Texas after a fire destroyed its California facility. For more information about the company’s recovery, read the cover story on the company from Independent Processor here.
• EDDY PACKING acquired Carolina Pride in October 2019. Based in Greenwood, S.C., Carolina Pride produces and sells pork, chicken, turkey, and beef products for retail and food service customers primarily in the Southeast.
• BURGERS’ SMOKEHOUSE President Steven Burger said that most of the company’s growth in 2019 was driven by acquisition. In January, the company acquired Clifty Farm Country Meats, headquartered in Paris, Tenn. The combined companies became largest producer of country ham in the nation.
• TURASKY MEATS enjoyed growth in shelf-stable meat snacks, including jerky, snack sticks and summer sausage.
• CLOVERDALE FOODS CO. is a 4th-generation, family-owned and operated company based in Mandan, N.D. A multi-year commitment to organizational health throughout all aspects of the company contributed to record sales and pounds shipped in 2019. The Cloverdale brand greatly expanded retail grocery footprint throughout the Midwest and Western U.S.
• After commissioning a new building with an 18,000-pound-per-hour kettle line and a 20,000-pallet storage freezer, JTM FOODS was able to produce orders of kettle-cooked demand items.
• BROOKWOOD FARMS, a barbecue processor, enjoyed record sales once more in 2019. The company is also making plans for a distribution and office expansion to its Siler City, N.C. headquarters.
• JENSEN MEATS experienced record sales and added solar carports to harvest sun power. The company also began expansion to add two more IQF lines and a fresh production room. Product-wise, Jensen launches So1oS brand, a line of individual wrapped patties.
• OLD WORLD PROVISIONS introduced new product lines and is working on an expansion to its facility in Troy, N.Y.
• Plant capacity increases at CARL BUDDIG allowed the company to achieve record sales.
• MONOGRAM FOODS increased its organic sales by 18 percent.
• PERDUE FARMS launches a new direct-to-consumer eCommerce website in its centennial year.it also launched a new CHICKEN PLUS product line and became the first poultry company in the U.S. to achieve GreenCircle “Zero Waste to Landfill” certification.
• DELI BRANDS OF AMERICA unveiled a host of new products, including meat loaf, sliced pork loin, retail corned beef hash, retail smoky beef hash, cooked short rib (bone-in and boneless). The company also opened a new 22,000-square-foot slicing and logistics facility and added new customers totaling 1 million pounds.
• SUNNYVALLEY SMOKED MEATS INC. says it has experienced high growth over the last few years and expects growth this year to be in the 15-20% range in pounds sold.
• SWAGGERTY’S FARM expanded its all-natural product line and introduced it to new retailers. The company’s $157.6 sales in 2019 were a record.
• SAILER’S FOOD MARKET AND MEAT PROCESSING purchased a new property, with future plans to move to the new facility.

Other Highlights from the Top 100

• ABBYLAND FOODS began work on opening a new processing line.
• On February 1, 2020, BRAKEBUSH BROTHERS INC. began production at its manufacturing facility in Mocksville, N.C. Brakebush projects its three new, state-of-the-art lines will produce about 90 million pounds of poultry annually. Brakebush acquired the plant in 2018 after it was badly damaged in a fire.
• BRANDING IRON HOLDINGS recently hired Andy Touchette as Senior Vice-President of Sales and Marketing. “Andy brings valued experience to this role and will be focused on building customer-centric strategies for our Foodservice and retail clients,” the company announced.
• CASE FARMS completed the addition of a VRT (variable retention time) and storage freezer in its Goldsboro, N.C., facility.
• COLORADO PREMIUM President Kevin LaFleur said that his company has a good year by focusing strategic growth and expense reduction.
• GOLDEN STATE FOODS’ protein products facility in Opelika, Ala., achieved the highest ratings of AA in its 2019 British Retail Consortium (BRC) audit, conducted in May 2019. The Opelika plant set a new record of 5 million patties produced in 17 hours in October 2019. GSF also completed the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef’s Food Safety Net Services audit for Packer/Processors. The Opelika facility achieved the highest level three requirements in the categories of Animal Health & Well-Being and Employee Safety & Well-Being, as well as level two requirements in the categories of Efficiency & Yield, Air & Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Water Resources.
• HOUSE OF RAEFORD FARMS is building a new feed mill in Simsboro, La., to support its Arcadia complex. The company’s ready-to-cook plant in Wallace, N.C., which was destroyed in a fire and re-opened in July of 2018, will likely reach full capacity by late fall, 2020.
• INDIANA PACKERS CORP. acquired Specialty Foods Group LLC, a meat processor that produces premium meat products under the Scott Pete, Kentuckian Gold, Kentucky Legend and Mickeblerry’s brands, among others.
• In 2019, MOUNTAIRE FARMS INC. focused its expansion in North Carolina, opening a new $170 million Processing Plant in Siler City, employing more than 1,200 people. To meet the growing demand from customers, other infrastructure improvements included a new $60 million feed mill in Scotland County and an expansion of its Mount Vernon hatchery in Siler City. On Delmarva, the company purchased a new grain storage facility in Dover, Del., to purchase more local grain for its Agri-Business team.
• OSI GROUP LLC acquired Rose Packing Co., a Chicago-area meat processor. It also entered into a co-manufacturing partnership with Impossible Foods. Among its accolades throughout the year, OSI won an Outstanding Innovation Award from Whole Foods Market. NP

The Greatest Gains Charts

The Greatest Gains chart is designed to showcase the companies that have shown the strongest growth over the past year. These are not necessarily the largest companies in the country; several of them did not make the cutoff for the Top 100 Report. However, their successful years deserve to be mentioned as well.