National Beef facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Meatpacking |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Headquarters | Kansas City, Missouri, United States |
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Key people
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Tim Klein (president & CEO) |
| Products | Beef |
| Revenue |  US$ 7.3 billion (2017) |
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Number of employees
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8,200 |
| Parent | Marfrig (82%) |
National Beef Packing Company LLC is a large company that processes beef. It is based in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. The company makes fresh and chilled beef products for people and businesses around the world. It also makes other beef items and products from beef by-products. A Brazilian company called Marfrig owns most of National Beef. The company focuses on different types of beef, like special branded beef, beef ready for stores, and portion-controlled beef. They also make a product called "wet blue leather." National Beef is one of the four biggest beef processing companies in the United States.
Contents
History of National Beef
National Beef started in 1992. This happened when a company called Farmland Industries bought a meat processing plant in Dodge City, Kansas. One year later, they bought another plant in Liberal, Kansas. They named the new company Farmland National Beef LLC.
In 1997, another company, U.S. Premium Beef Ltd, bought a small part of National Beef. This made National Beef jointly owned by Farmland Industries and U.S. Premium Beef Ltd. National Beef also bought most of the Kansas City Steak Company. By 2001, National Beef began making "consumer-ready" beef. This means beef that is already cut and packaged for shoppers. They started this at plants in Hummels Wharf, Pennsylvania and Moultrie, Georgia.
By 2003, National Beef became the fourth largest beef processor in the U.S. U.S. Premium Beef Ltd then bought most of the company. They teamed up with a management group and Beef Products Inc. as smaller investors. Together, they formed National Beef Packing Co. LLC.
In 2006, National Beef bought Brawley Beef, LLC, located in Brawley, California. This plant was built in 2001 and could process many cattle each year. National Beef said this purchase would help them work with more cattle farmers. It also helped them grow in the western U.S. The Brawley plant closed in 2014.
Three years later, National Beef bought the Prime Tanning facility in St. Joseph, Missouri. They renamed it National Beef Leathers LLC. This purchase helped them add more value to the animal hides from their beef plants. In 2011, Leucadia National Corporation bought a large part of National Beef Packing Company.
Five years later, National Beef announced plans to make their Dodge City and Liberal, Kansas, facilities bigger. This would help them handle and ship more products. In 2018, the Brazilian company Marfrig bought 51 percent of National Beef for $969 million. This deal also added a beef patty plant in North Baltimore, Ohio, to National Beef's business. One year later, National Beef bought Iowa Premium, LLC, in Tama, Iowa.
How National Beef Sells and Operates
National Beef is the fourth largest beef processor in the United States. They sell over $7 billion worth of products every year. You can find National Beef products in many places. These include large supermarket chains, smaller grocery stores, and club stores. They also sell to wholesalers, distributors, and food service providers. Even the U.S. military buys their products.
National Beef has operations in several U.S. states. These include Liberal, Dodge City, and Kansas City, Kansas. They also have plants in Hummels Wharf, Pennsylvania, Moultrie, Georgia, and St. Joseph, Missouri. Their main office is in Kansas City, Missouri. National Beef also has offices in other countries. These are in Chicago, Illinois, Tokyo, Seoul, and Hong Kong.
The company uses a system called BioLogic Food Safety System. This system helps make sure their food is safe. It includes training employees, special cleaning steps, and checking products. National Beef also follows international food safety rules called the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). They have been checked by a group called the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and met their high standards.
National Beef Products
National Beef makes many different types of beef products.
Boxed Beef
National Beef processes and supplies fresh and chilled beef to customers worldwide. Their main beef processing plants are in Liberal and Dodge City, Kansas, and Tama, Iowa.
Consumer Ready Beef
This is beef that is already cut and packaged for shoppers. The beef comes from the Liberal and Dodge City, Kansas, plants. It is then sent to special facilities in Hummels Wharf, Pennsylvania, and Moultrie, Georgia. There, it is put into different types of packaging, like overwrap or vacuum-sealed packs, for stores.
Branded Box Beef
National Beef offers many special beef brands. These include natural beef, Angus beef brands, and other unique brands. Some examples are Black Canyon Angus Beef, Hereford brands, NatureSource Natural Beef, and HyPlains Heritage Farms.
Portion Control Beef
National Beef owns the Kansas City Steak Company. This company sells beef that is already cut into specific sizes. They sell to restaurants and stores. You can also buy their products directly from them online or through mail order.
Wet Blue Leather
National Beef runs the largest "wet blue" tannery in the world. Tanning is the process of turning animal hides into leather. "Wet blue" is the first step where raw hides are treated. From their facility in St. Joseph, Missouri, National Beef sends these treated hides to other companies. These companies then turn them into finished leather for cars, fancy bags, clothes, and furniture.
Product Recalls
Sometimes, a company might ask for a product back if there's a possible problem. This is called a recall. In June 2013, National Beef recalled almost 23,000 pounds of ground beef. This was because there was a chance it could have E. coli bacteria.
On August 1, 2013, the company recalled another 50,000 pounds of ground beef products. This was also due to a possible E. coli concern. All these recalls were done by the company voluntarily. No one reported getting sick from these products.
See also
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the meat industry in the United States#National Beef
