John Soules Foods (#9) introduced new fully cooked rotisserie chicken strips, season chicken strips and chicken fillets. Alderfer Inc. and Leidy’s Inc., two of last year’s Top companies, merged into a new entity, ALL Holding Co. Inc. (#25). Charlie’s Pride Meats (#31) built a new processing facility/warehouse. Those are just three examples of how companies are forging ahead with their plans to improve their companies. As an added bonus, those processors that make improvements to survive in the rough times now will be that much further ahead of the game when the economy does turn around.

Thanks to Pamela Smith for her help in compiling this report.

Would you like to have your company in the Top 75 list for next year? E-mail gazdziaks@bnpmedia.com with your contact information, and we’ll add you to our list for 2010.

The Top 75 list

Rank, Name, Location, Net Sales (millions)

Top 75 company highlights

John Soules Foods Inc. introduced several new products: Fully Cooked Rotisserie Chicken Strips, Fully Cooked Italian Seasoned Chicken Strips and Fully Cooked Rotisserie Chicken Fillets.

In September, 2008, Mountain States Lamb Corp., a 50 percent joint venture partner in Mountain States Rosen, purchased a 100-percent interest in the enterprise.

Kayem Foods entered into a multi-year sponsorship with the Boston Red Sox to manufacture the Fenway Franks line of hot dogs and make Kayem Foods the Official Hot Dog of the Boston Red Sox and Fenway Park. As part of the agreement, Kayem reformulated the hot dog and introduced a new and improved product on Opening Day, 2009. Kayem is also celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2009.

On November 3, 2008, the owners of Leidy’s Inc. and Alderfer Inc. announced a merger of the two companies via the formation of a new, jointly owned entity, ALL Holding Co. Inc. Tom and Terry Leidy and Ken Longacre, the respective owners of Leidy’s and Alderfer’s, are equal partners in the new entity. Jim Van Stone was hired to be CEO of the new company. An industry veteran, Van Stone has held management positions in Jordan’s Foods, Campbell Soup Co. and Hatfield Quality Meats.

Chicago Meat Authority acquired 20,000 square feet of USDA-inspected plant space across the street of its current plant in 2008, allowing the company to increase plant size, add jobs, expand product lines, introduce new capabilities and reconfigure its production lines. The company also named Tom Perlstein as chief operating officer and introduced numerous new products to the marketplace.

Charlie’s Pride Meats introduced a new full line of prepared meals and opened a brand-new state-of-the-art processing facility and warehouse.

Dole & Bailey Inc. opened two new subsidiaries. Northeast Family Farms creates a supply chain between the farmer and the chef, helping local communities preserve the rural landscape and enhance economic opportunities. Northeast Oceans promotes sustainable fisheries and provides support to regional New England fishery management processes.

Manda Fine Meats CEO Robert Yarborough was named the Businessperson of the Year by the Baton Rouge Business Report & Junior Achievement.

Rocky Mountain Natural Meats now offers a 100-percent bison all-natural hot dog, made with organic honey. The company’s fresh ground bison has expanded to be found in Kroger, Safeway, A&P, Food Emporium, Stop & Shop, Wegmans, Whole Foods, Briston Farms, Weiss, Hannaford Brothers, Pathmark, Shop Rite, Albertson’s, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Marsh, Raley’s and Ralph’s.

Dutch Valley Foods became a full-line distributor for Dakota Organic Beef, Country Fresh and King’s Pride Australian Lamb & Goat. The company also expanded its domestic lamb-processing capabilities by 20 percent through new partnerships and custom processing agreements.

Deli Brands of America made several key appointments in the last year, including: Ron Tew, vice president of operations; Thomas Freimuth, plant manager; Christopher Carando, vice president of sales, and Robin Volpe, sales representative. The company grew its co-packaging and private labeling capabilities for retail and foodservice companies nationwide and improved its slicing capabilities for its deli meats. Deli Brands also introduced several new products, including meat loaf, cooked taco meat and fresh corned beef hash in 1-pound retail packages.

Koch’s Turkey Farm is working on several new antibiotic-free turkey products, including turkey meatballs, patties, sliders, sausage and sandwich steaks.

Source Verified Foods/Vande Rose Farms acquired a specialty processors in Wellsburg, Iowa, and a value-added processor in Ackley, Iowa, as well as a distribution and sales office in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Its artisan dry cured bacon was featured on both the Today Show and Cook’s Illustrated after being selected as the best bacon by America’s Test Kitchen. The company also released apple-cinnamon pork chops, maple breakfast sausage and roaster pigs.

Brookwood Farms set another record for sales in 2008 and completed a $3 million expansion project to increased cooling and processing areas.

Old World Provisions acquired Fritz Helmbold of Troy, NY, expanding its production capacity and its product capabilities in the process.

Deli Star Corp. is expanding its existing 30,000-square-foot facility with an additional 25,000 square feet of space to meet the demand of new customers. Sales are expected to reach $15 million in 2009 and $20 million in 2010.

Byron Center Meats is building a 14,000 square-foot addition and remodel of its existing plant. The move was planned for the Spring of 2009, giving the company a state-of-the-art plant with new automation and room to grow.

Watson’s Quality Food Products Inc. is an approved co-packer for Wellshire Farms, Whole Foods, Hatfield and Perdue, with Hatfield and Perdue being new agreements from this year. The company’s production of antibiotic-free products rose from 20 percent last year to 35 percent this year.

Kesslers Inc. added a new line of natural items for a private-label customer.

Esposito’s Finest Quality Sausage Products celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2008. The company is now selling its products online via its Web site as well as Amazon to customers nationwide.