Cudahy Packing Company facts for kids
The Cudahy Packing Plant, located at 2300 N. Broadway Street in Wichita, Kansas. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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| Industry | Meat packing |
|---|---|
| Fate | Acquired in 1981 |
| Successor | Bar-S Foods Company |
| Founded | 1887 |
| Founders | Michael Cudahy |
Cudahy Packing Company was a large American business that processed and sold meat. It started in 1887 as the Armour-Cudahy Packing Company. The company was officially set up in Maine in 1915. Later, in 1981, the meatpacking part of Cudahy was bought by Bar-S Foods Company.
Contents
History of Cudahy Packing Company
How the Company Started
In 1887, a man named Michael Cudahy began the Armour-Cudahy packing plant. He got help from Philip Danforth Armour. Their first plant was in Omaha, Nebraska.
In 1890, Michael Cudahy bought out Armour's share. This is when the company became known as Cudahy Packing Company. The company grew and opened branches all over the country. In 1909, they even built a cleaning products factory in East Chicago, Indiana. By 1911, the company's main office moved from Omaha to Chicago.
Popular Products
Cudahy Packing Company made more than just meat. In 1905, they introduced a well-known cleaning product called Old Dutch Cleanser.
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In 1955, another company called Purex bought Old Dutch Cleanser from Cudahy. Later, in 1985, The Greyhound Corporation bought the cleaning product business from Purex. This included Old Dutch Cleanser. It became part of Greyhound's Armour-Dial division, which then became The Dial Corporation. In 2003, Dial was sold to Henkel.
Cudahy also made food products like Delrich margarine. This margarine came with a special "color berry" that allowed people to color the white margarine yellow right inside the package.
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Growth and Challenges
By 1922, Cudahy Packing Company was one of the biggest meatpackers in the United States. They had over $200 million in sales each year. About 13,000 people worked for the company across the country.
Cudahy had operations in many cities, including South Omaha, Kansas City, Saint Joseph, Sioux City, Wichita, Memphis, East Chicago, Salt Lake City, and Los Angeles. They also had distribution centers in 97 other cities.
The company faced tough times during the Great Depression. However, it still employed about 1,000 people in the Chicago area in the mid-1930s.
New Locations and Ownership
After World War II, Cudahy Packing Company moved its main office. First, it went back to Omaha. Then, in 1956, it moved to Phoenix. At this time, the company changed its name to Cudahy Company.
In 1957, Cudahy Company was listed as one of the top 500 companies in the S&P 500. This list includes the largest and most important companies in the U.S.
In 1968, a company called General Host bought Cudahy Company.
The meatpacking part of Cudahy was sold to its management in 1981. It was then renamed Bar-S Foods Company. In 2010, a Mexican company called Sigma Alimentos acquired Bar-S Foods Company.
