HORMEL FOODS CORP.

HORMEL FOODS CORP. Hormel Foods Corporation, an American food company based in Austin, Minnesota, produces Spam luncheon meat. The company was founded as George A. Hormel & Company in Austin by George A. Hormel in 1891. It changed its name to Hormel Foods in 1993. (1) Hormel sells food under many brands, including the Chi-Chi's, Dinty Moore, Farmer John, Herdez, Jennie-O, Lloyd's, Muscle Milk, Skippy, Spam, La Victoria, and Stagg brands, as well as under its own name. The company is listed on the Fortune 500. (2)

In 1985, Hormel Foods Corp. signed a marketing and distribution agreement with FDL FOODS INC.. This was renewed until 1993 when Hormel purchased FDL's brands and trademarks. One of the products sold at this time was the famed DUBUQUE PLUMPERS. The decision to no longer market the hotdog was made by Hormel in January 2015. (3)

Spam was first produced in 1937. The popularity of the canned meat soared during WORLD WAR II with over 100 million pounds shipped to service personnel stationed overseas. Production of Spam at Hormel Foods' Progressive Processing plant in the Dubuque Industrial Park began June 1, 2015. The Spam line was added after a $36 million expansion project at the facility which was opened in 2010 with sixty employees. (4)

Since March 2014 the workforce at the Dubuque operation grew by ninety people. In June 2015, the company employed 303 employees in Dubuque. Growth of the company in Dubuque was linked to the production of Spam and a "Bacon Bits" line. (5)

In 2010 the 342,000-square-foot facility earned LEED Gold status. This signified that the plant met all of the LEED water-efficiency standards and 6 of the 17 standards for energy and atmosphere. (6)

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Source:

1. "Hormel" Wikipedia

2. Ibid.

3. "Hormel No Longer Making Dubuque Plumpers," Telegraph Herald, November 4, 2015, p. 3A

4. Garbe, William. "A Spam Blocker? No Need at Hormel," Telegraph Herald, June 5, 2015, p. 1

5. Ibid. p. 2

6. Ibid.