Tyson Foods

BACKGROUND During the Great Depression, Arkansas poultry farmer John Tyson supported his family by selling vegetables and poultry. In 1935, after developing a method for transporting live poultry (he installed a food-and-water trough and nailed small feed cups on a trailer), he bought 500 chickens in Arkansas and sold them in Chicago (Hoovers, 2011). For the next decade Tyson bought, sold, and transported chickens. By 1947, the year he incorporated the company as Tyson Feed & Hatchery, he was raising the chickens himself. He emphasized chicken production, opening his first processing plant in 1958 in Springdale, where he implemented an ice-packing system that allowed the company to send its products greater distances (Hoovers, 2011). John's son Don took over as manager in 1960 and in 1963 it went public as Tyson Foods. Tyson Country Fresh Chicken (packaged chicken that would become the company's mainstay) was introduced in 1967 (Hoovers, 2011). Health-conscious consumers increasingly turned from red meats to poultry during the 1980s. Tyson became the industry leader with several key acquisitions of poultry operations, including the Tastybird division of Valmac (1985), Lane Processing (1986), and Heritage Valley (1986). Its 1989 purchase of Holly Farms added beef and pork processing (Hoovers, 2011). Tyson bought embattled Hudson Foods' poultry operations in 1998. The company said it would take a charge that year of $196 million to restructure. It also sold turkey processor Willow Brook Foods (now part of Cargill Meat Solutions) to Willow Brook management in 1998. That year John H. Tyson, grandson of the founder, was elected chairman. In 1999 Tyson sold its seafood business for about $180 million in a two-part transaction to International Home Foods and Trident Seafoods. John Tyson became CEO in 2000 (Hoovers, 2011). As the winner in a bidding war with Smithfield Foods, in 2001 Tyson agreed to buy IBP, Inc., the #1 beef

References: Babcock, David. (2010, October 11). FSIS Announces New Video Monitoring Guidelines. Retrieved from http://www.foodpoisonjournal.com/food-policy-regulations/fsis-announces-new-video-monitoring-guidlines/ Epstein, Herb FSIS. (2010, December 17). Regulations and policies. Retrieved from http://www.fsis.usda.gov/About_FSIS/index.asp Hoover’s Company Records February 24, 2011 (2011). Retrieved from History/Overview. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=168161321&Fmt=2 &clientId=2027&RQT=309&VName=PQD Hoover’s Company Records February 24, 2011. Iss. W pg.10952. Hoovers (2011) &clientId=2027&RQT=309&VName=PQD Hoover’s Company Records February 24, 2011 (2011). Retrieved from Fact Sheet. Madon, Connie. (2011, February 11). Food Earnings Food Inflation. Retrieved from http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2011/02/09/tyson-food-earning-food inflation/ Trading Economics Tyson Foods, Inc. Financial and Strategic Analysis Review February 24, 2011. http://www.companiesandmarkets.com/summary-company-Profile/tyson-foods,-inc.-financial-and-strategic-analysis-review-188309.asp Tyson Foods, Inc