Perdue Farms
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| Type | private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Poultry, chicken |
| Founded | 1920 |
| Founder(s) | Arthur W. Perdue Pearl Perdue[1] |
| Headquarters | Salisbury, Maryland |
| Key people | Jim Perdue, Chairman |
| Products | Poultry, chicken |
| Revenue | > $4.6 Billion[2] |
| Employees | 20,987 |
| Parent | FPP Family Investments, Inc. |
| Website | Perdue.com |
Perdue Farms is a major chicken processing company based in Salisbury, Maryland, United States with annual sales in excess of $4.6B.[2]
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Origin and war era
The company was founded in 1920 by Arthur Perdue[1] with his wife, Pearl Perdue, who had been keeping a small flock of chickens.[3] The company started out selling eggs, then in 1925, Perdue built the company's first hatchery, and began selling layer chicks to farmers instead of only eggs for human consumption.[3] His son Frank Perdue joined the company in 1939 at age 19 after dropping out of college.[4] In the 1940s, the company made a transition from selling layer chicks to broiler chickens.[5]
[edit] Post-war growth
The company was incorporated as A.W. Perdue & Son and Frank Perdue assumed leadership in the 1950s.[1][6] The company also began contracting with local farmers to raise its birds and supplying chickens for processing as well as opening a second hatchery in North Carolina during this period.[6]
[edit] Full integration
Perdue entered the grain and oilseed business by building grain receiving and storage facilities and Maryland's first soybean processing plant.[7]
In 1968, the company began operating its first poultry processing plant in Salisbury.[7] This move had two effects: it gave Perdue Farms full vertical integration and quality control over every step from egg and feed to market,[7] as well as increasing profits which were being squeezed by processors.[1] This move enabled the company to differentiate its product, rather than selling a commodity.[1]
In 1991, Frank's son Jim Perdue was named Chairman, becoming the third generation of leaders from the Perdue family.[8]
[edit] Perdue today
As of 2005, Perdue Farms is the third-largest American producer of broilers (chickens for eating), annually producing 59,320,000 pounds of ready-to-cook broiler meat, behind Tyson Foods (151,300,000 lbs.) and Pilgrim's Pride Corp. (150,930,000 lbs.)[citation needed]
In 2010, the corporate structure of Perdue Farms changed.[9] A holding company, FPP Family Investments, Inc., owned by the Perdue family, became the controlling entity for Perdue Farms. The holding company also owns Perdue AgriBusiness, a grain operation; FPP Business Services, a shared business services company; and Coleman Natural Foods.[10]
Oher subsidiaries include Heritage Breeders, LLC, which is responsible for developing the breed used by Perdue, and developing other lines of stock for sale to other poultry companies; Venture Milling, which creates proteins for livestock; Perdue Fats and Proteins, LLC, which sells pet and animal feed ingredients; Perdue BioEnergy, LLC, which works in the field of renewable energies; and Perdue AgriRecycle, which converts poultry litter into organic fertilizer products.[11]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Schmetterer, Bob (2003). Leap: A Revolution in Creative Business Strategy. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 72–76. ISBN 9780471229179. http://books.google.com/books?id=RgNRlgDNJ5UC.
- ^ a b "About Us". Perdue Farms. 2010. http://www.perdue.com/company/about/index.html. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
- ^ a b "Business Timeline: 1920s". Perdue Farms. 2008. http://www.perdue.com/company/history/timeline_1920.html#timeline. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
- ^ "Business Timeline: 1930s". Perdue Farms. 2008. http://www.perdue.com/company/history/timeline_1930.html#timeline. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
- ^ "Business Timeline: 1940s". Perdue Farms. 2008. http://www.perdue.com/company/history/timeline_1940.html#timeline. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
- ^ a b "Business Timeline: 1950s". Perdue Farms. 2008. http://www.perdue.com/company/history/timeline_1950.html#timeline. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
- ^ a b c "Business Timeline: 1960s". Perdue Farms. 2008. http://www.perdue.com/company/history/timeline_1960.html#timeline. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
- ^ "Business Timeline: 1990s". Perdue Farms. 2008. http://www.perdue.com/company/history/timeline_1990.html#timeline. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
- ^ The Daily Times Perdue Restructure to Allow for Growth
- ^ The Daily Times Salisbury Based Poultry Company Purchases Coleman
- ^ Perdue Farms Our Products and Services
