Shearer's Foods facts for kids
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| Private company | |
| Industry | Snack food |
| Founded | 1974 |
| Headquarters |
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United States
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Area served
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United States Canada minimal global distribution |
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Key people
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Bill Nictakis CEO |
| Products | List of products |
| Owner |
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Shearer's Foods, LLC is a company in the United States that makes and sells yummy snack foods. It started in 1974 as Shearer's Snacks. Its main office is in Brewster, Ohio.
Shearer's Foods has over 3,400 employees. They work in eight different factories. The company makes its own snacks, like Shearer's Potato Chips. They also make snacks for other companies and stores.
Shearer's has factories in many states, including Ohio, Texas, and Oregon. They also have a factory in Ontario, Canada. Their snacks are sold all over the world. The factory in Massillon, Ohio, is very special. It was the first food factory in the world to get a top award for being super eco-friendly.
In December 2023, a company called Clayton Dubilier & Rice bought Shearer's Foods.
Contents
History of Shearer's Snacks
The Shearer family started a grocery store in Canton, Ohio, a long time ago. This was in the early 1900s. Later, Jack Shearer and his wife, Rosemary, ran the family store.
In 1974, they bought a business that sold snack foods. They called it Brookside Distributing. In 1979, they started making their own potato chips. They found that "kettle-cooked" chips were extra crunchy. These chips were made in big kettles.
The Shearers packed their chips in one-pound bags. They sold them under the name "Kettle-Cook'd."
How Shearer's Grew
In 1982, Shearer's bought a large building in Brewster, Ohio. It was 20,000 square feet big. Soon, they had six kettles making chips. They also had a machine to roast peanuts.
The "Grandma Shearer's" logo first appeared in 1983. At that time, they used 3,700 pounds of potatoes every day! In 1986, Shearer's added a new fryer. This machine could make 1,000 pounds of chips every hour. They also made their warehouse bigger.
The company kept growing through the 1990s. They added more fryers and special machines. These machines could stir the chips automatically. They also added new equipment for making tortilla chips and cheese curls. The factory grew by another 100,000 square feet.
In the early 2000s, more cooking and packaging machines were added. Shearer's bought more land next to their factory. They also moved some storage to Massillon.
Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery magazine named Shearer's "Snack Manufacturer of the Year" in 2002 and again in 2011.
In 2004, Shearer's got a new logo. They also updated their snack bags. A special water treatment plant was finished that spring. This plant helped clean the water used in the factory. More kettle cookers were added. This made Shearer's one of the biggest makers of kettle-cooked chips in the country.
Recent Company News
People started wanting healthier snacks in 2006. So, Shearer's made new whole grain tortilla chips. These chips were made with 100% whole grain yellow corn.
- 2008: Shearer's planned to build a new factory. This factory would be the first in the world to get the highest award for being eco-friendly.
- 2009: They launched two new snack brands: Tangos™ Tortilla Chips and Shapers™ Whole Grain Chips.
- 2010: Shearer's bought another snack company called Snack Alliance. This company made potato chips, tortilla chips, and popcorn. Snack Alliance also made the Riceworks brand of rice snacks.
- May 2011: Shearer's started making potato chips with zero trans fat. They cooked these chips in 100% canola oil.
- June 2012: The main office moved to a new building in downtown Massillon, Ohio.
- October 2012: Shearer's was sold to a company called Wind Point Partners.
- January 2015: A big part of the company was bought by the Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan. Since 2012, Shearer's had bought other snack companies. This made the business much bigger.
- 2016: Shearer's bought Barrel O' Fun. This company also made many of the same snacks. Shearer's now runs the Barrel O' Fun factory in Perham, Minnesota. They still make Barrel O' Fun snacks there.
- 2021: Shearer's Foods stopped making snacks under its own Shearer's brand. They decided to focus on making snacks for other companies instead.
Being Green: Environmental Efforts
Shearer's Foods cares about the environment. They work to save energy and reduce waste. In 2006, they joined a program called Energy Star. They try to use less energy in their offices and factories. They even won an award for their efforts!
Here are some ways they help the environment:
- Zero Waste: Their goal is to send less than one percent of their waste to landfills.
- Recycling Food Waste: They recycle leftover food and wet waste. This waste is then used as animal feed.
- Potato Starch: All potato starch is collected. It is then cleaned and used as a special oil for machines.
- Used Cooking Oil: All used vegetable oil is recycled.
- Energy-Saving Lights: They use special energy-efficient lights in their factories in Brewster and Lubbock. They also use them in their warehouse in Navarre.
- Oil Filters: New equipment helps keep their cooking oil clean. This also reduces waste.
- Heating Systems: They use smart systems on large air units. These systems help save a lot of natural gas during cold weather.
- Water Treatment: They have special facilities to clean wastewater. This makes sure they follow state rules for clean water.
In 2009, the company started building a new factory. This factory in Massillon, Ohio was designed to be super eco-friendly. It was the first food factory in the world to get the highest award for being environmentally responsible. This award is called LEED Platinum.
How Snacks Are Made
Making Different Snacks
Shearer's makes many different snacks. They use potatoes, yellow, white, and blue corn. They even use organic corn. For tortilla chips, they make their own masa (a dough from corn).
The company has a team that creates new flavors. They also work with other companies to develop tasty seasonings. Here are some of the ways they make snacks:
- Kettle Cookers: They use big kettles to make kettle-cooked potato chips.
- Chip Lines: They have machines that make standard, wavy, and rippled potato chips.
- Tortilla Chip Lines: Special machines make tortilla chips.
- Extruders: These machines make snacks like cheese curls and puffs.
Their products include sliced, rippled, and wavy potato chips. They also make kettle-cooked chips. Other snacks are tortilla chips, whole grain chips, cheese curls, and puff corn.
Shearer's has six storage centers in Ohio and Pennsylvania. They deliver snacks using their own trucks. They also work with other delivery companies. These companies help deliver snacks across the Midwest, New England, and parts of Canada.
Shearer's Factory Locations
Shearer's has factories in many places:
- Massillon, Ohio: This is where the main office is. It also has the special eco-friendly factory.
- Brewster, Ohio: This is a main factory.
- Bristol, Virginia: A factory location.
- Burlington, Iowa: A factory location.
- Fort Worth, Texas: A factory location.
- Guelph, Ontario: A factory in Canada.
- Lubbock, Texas: A factory location.
- Newport, Arkansas: A factory location.
- Phoenix, Arizona: A factory location.
- Perham, Minnesota: A factory location.
- Waterford, Pennsylvania: A factory location.
Shearer's Snack Products
Shearer's Branded Snacks
- Kettle Cooked Potato Chips: Flavors like Original, Mesquite BBQ, Sea Salt and Pepper, Sea Salt and Vinegar, Hot Pepper Jalapeño. They also have a 40% Less Fat option.
- Home-Style Potato Chips: Classic, Bacon-Cheddar, and Rippled.
- Rippled Potato Chips: Original, Sour Cream and Onion, and Home Run Hot Dog (a seasonal flavor).
- Savory Potato Chips: Original, Sour Cream & Onion, Lightly Salted, Cheddar & Sour Cream, and Barbeque.
- Baked Cheese Curls and Krazi Curls.
- Butter Puffs and Cheese Puffs.
- Pretzels: Thins, Minis, Sticks, and flavors like Honey Wheat and Butter Twist.
- Pork Rinds: Original and Barbecue flavors.
- Tortilla Chips: Multigrain & Flaxseed, Fire Roasted Veggie, Blue Corn & Sesame, Deli Rounds, Bite Size, Cantina Style, Margarita Lime, and Restaurant Style.
Other snack brands that Shearer's owns include riceworks, Granny Goose, Thin & Crispy, Brent & Sam's, Delicious Bakery, and Vista.
Images for kids
