Smithfield Foods facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Smithfield Foods, Inc.

Type	Public
Traded as	NASDAQ: SFD
Industry	Meat processing
Founded	1936; 89 years ago (1936), as Smithfield Packing Company, Smithfield, Virginia, United States
Founders	Joseph W. Luter, Sr. Joseph W. Luter, Jr.
Headquarters	200 Commerce Street, Smithfield, Virginia
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Shane Smith (CEO)
Products	Meat processing Pork products
Brands	Cook's, Eckrich, Gwaltney, John Morrell, Krakus, and Smithfield, among others
Production output	As of 2006 raised 15 million pigs and produced six billion pounds of pork per year
Revenue	US$14.4 billion (2015)
Operating income	US$793.8 million (2015)
Net income	US$452.3 million (2015)
Total assets	US$9.9 billion (2015)
Total equity	US$4.8 billion (2015)
Number of employees	50,200 (2016)
Parent	WH Group

Smithfield Foods, Inc. is a big American company that produces and processes pork. It is based in Smithfield, Virginia. This company is a part of a larger Chinese company called WH Group.

Smithfield Foods was started in 1936 by Joseph W. Luter and his son. It began as the Smithfield Packing Company. Today, it is the largest producer of pigs and pork in the world. Smithfield owns over 500 farms in the United States. It also works with about 2,000 other farms across the country. These farms help raise Smithfield's pigs.

The company has facilities in other countries too. These include Mexico, Poland, Romania, Germany, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom. In 2016, Smithfield Foods had 50,200 employees around the world. It made about $14 billion in revenue that year. Its large meat-processing plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina, was said to be the biggest in the world in 2000. It could process 32,000 pigs every day.

In 2013, WH Group (then called Shuanghui Group) bought Smithfield Foods. This deal cost $4.72 billion. It was the biggest purchase of an American company by a Chinese company at that time. Because of this, WH Group became one of the largest foreign owners of American farmland.

How Smithfield Foods Grew

Smithfield Foods started to grow a lot in 1981. It bought Gwaltney of Smithfield that year. Between 1981 and 2008, the company bought almost 40 other businesses. Some of these well-known brands include:

• Eckrich
• Farmland Foods
• John Morrell
• Murphy Family Farms
• Circle Four Farms
• Premium Standard Farms
• Nathan's Famous
• Healthy Ones

The company grew by using a very organized way of raising pigs. They keep thousands of pigs in large barns. These are known as concentrated animal feeding operations. Smithfield controls how the animals grow from when they are born until they are ready for packaging.

As of 2006, Smithfield raised 15 million pigs each year. They processed 27 million pigs. This produced over six billion pounds of pork. In 2007, Smithfield was the top pig-processing company in the United States. It processed 114,300 pigs every day. The company sells its products under many brand names. These include Cook's, Eckrich, Gwaltney, John Morrell, Krakus, and Smithfield. Shane Smith became the president and CEO of Smithfield Foods in July 2021.

Company Beginnings and Early Years

The Smithfield processing plant in Smithfield, Virginia

The story of Smithfield Foods began in 1936. Joseph W. Luter Sr. and his son, Joseph W. Luter Jr., opened the Smithfield Packing Company. This was in Smithfield, Virginia. They got money to start the company from Peter Pruden and John S. Martin.

Joseph W. Luter Jr. was the CEO until he passed away in 1962. His son, Joseph W. Luter III, joined the company that same year. He worked in sales and bought more shares. In 1966, he became the chairman and CEO. He said that when he took over, the company processed about 3,000 pigs a day. By the time he left in 1970, it was 5,000 pigs a day. The number of employees also grew from 800 to 1,400.

In 1969, Joseph W. Luter III sold Smithfield to Liberty Equities. They fired him in 1970. He then worked on developing a ski resort until 1975.

Smithfield Foods was having money problems in 1975. Their banks suggested they re-hire Joseph W. Luter III as CEO. He said the company was losing $2 million a year. Luter helped the company get back on track. He stayed as CEO until 2006. He was chairman until the company was sold to WH Group in 2013. His son, Joseph W. Luter IV, also worked for Smithfield Foods. He became an executive vice-president in 2008. He resigned in 2013.

A Smithfield CAFO in Unionville, Missouri, 2013. This is where many pigs are raised together.

Sows (female pigs used for breeding) are kept in small pens called gestation crates. This picture was taken at a Smithfield farm in Virginia in 2010.

What Smithfield Foods Produces

Stewart Leeth, Smithfield's chief sustainability officer, in October 2017.

John Edwards meeting with Smithfield workers in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, June 2007.

As of 2006, Smithfield raised 15 million pigs each year. They processed 27 million pigs. This resulted in over six billion pounds of pork. In 2007, Smithfield was the biggest pig-processing company in the United States. They processed 114,300 pigs every day.

Medical Products from Pigs

Smithfield also supplies a medicine called heparin. This medicine helps thin blood. It is taken from pigs' intestines. Smithfield sells it to companies that make medicines. In 2017, the company started a bioscience unit. They joined a group that works on tissue engineering. This group received $80 million from the United States Department of Defense.

Plant-Based Meat Options

Smithfield has also started selling meat substitutes. These are plant-based products that look and taste like meat. They are similar to products from companies like Impossible Foods. Smithfield sells these under their Pure Farmland brand.

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