Weaver Meats expansion, equipment upgrades boost co-packing and private-label meat snack production
Expansion adds 18,500 square feet to the Weaver Meats facility.
Weaver Meats facility
Weaver Meats, a Painesville, Ohio, processor of jerky and other meat snacks, announces the completion of its latest expansion. This latest project brings the company’s facility to more than 40,000 square feet of processing space.
Weaver Meats was founded by brothers Mike and Dave Weaver in 1981. Originally a 2,400-square-foot butcher shop, it operated in its original form until 1996. During that time, the company’s beef jerky became an unexpected top seller. “In the dead of winter, people weren’t coming in and spending two bucks for a pound of ground beef, but they were dropping $16 a pound for beef jerky. You’d get little kids that walked past the candy rack and put their change together for 79 cents worth of beef jerky,” said Dave Weaver. The brothers made the decision to take the business in a different direction, so they sold the butcher shop, built a new facility and opened the second iteration of Weaver Meats in 1997.
Weaver Meats jerky. Courtesy of Weaver Meats“We were able to get in on the ground floor of this big spike in the snack industry, for shelf-stable jerky and sticks,” Mike Weaver said. The Weaver Meats plant was originally 4,800 square feet in size but has expanded multiple times over the years. The company’s latest expansion has added 18,500 square feet to the building. Josh Weaver, Mike’s son, said that the expansion gives Weaver’s employees a little more space to do their jobs. “We wanted to do some equipment upgrades. We upgraded our grinders, stuffers, packaging,” he said.
Weaver Meats remains a family business, with 36 employees. Mike Weaver is the president, and Dave Weaver is vice president. Josh Weaver is the general manager and is part of the second generation of the family, along with Dave’s daughter Nicole, who works there. The company produces a wide variety of jerky, meat sticks and other meat snack products. Some of those products are sold under the company’s own brands, including Weaver Meats, Iowa Smokehouse, Tommy’s Old Fashion Jerky & Smokies and others. Much of its production is for private-label customers and co-packing, and the expansion is meant to grow that side of the business.
Weaver Meats Smokies. Courtesy of Weaver Meats“Usually, the first question that gets asked is, ‘How much can you do?’” Mike said of customer meetings. The additional square footage means that Weaver’s can meet demands without having to scale up production first. “With this expansion, as soon as someone asks, we can do it right now. We don’t have to wait.”
The company is seeking customers who are looking for a partner for co-packing and private-label manufacturing of meat snacks, including jerky and snack sticks.
Source: Weaver Meats; AAMP
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