Brazilian multinational meat processing company JBS has moved to secure its supply chain by acquiring certain assets of Iowa-based pork producer TriOak Foods for an undisclosed sum.
The assets include three feed mills, four grain elevators, and sow operations in Iowa, Illinois, Colorado, and Oklahoma. Agricultural real estate assets in Iowa are not included in the deal, according to a report by Just Food.
JBS has been the sole buyer of TriOak Foods’ pigs for the past five years, and the company said the two companies had a “strong and long-standing business relationship”. Under the new deal, TriOak Foods would “ensure access to a consistent supply of premium pork” through its Iowa and Illinois-based factories, JBS said in a brief market notice.
It adds to JBS operations in the US, which include five pork production facilities in Illinois, Kentucky, Iowa and Minnesota.
In a statement, JBS said the deal would allow it “to ensure consistent supply and increased efficiencies, resulting in affordable, quality products for American consumers and new opportunities for both TriOak and JBS team members”.
JBS USA pork president Marty Dooley said: “With a focus on meeting customer and consumer expectations, this announcement means that JBS USA will continue expanding our premium pork product mix, including open pen gestation and Proposition 12-compliant hogs. We are grateful for the opportunity to ensure consistent supply to our Ottumwa, Iowa, and Beardstown, Illinois, pork production facilities, which will strengthen our ability to reliably provide high-quality protein to American families.”
CEO and president of TriOak Foods Randy Pflum added in and said, “I am very proud of all that TriOak has accomplished and am excited to strengthen our relationship with a trusted partner.”
The investment in TriOak Foods follows an earlier decision by JBS to pull out of a deal to take full control of Pilgrim’s Pride, a US-based poultry business of which it already owns 80%.
The company also recently ventured into the Middle East by purchasing factories in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as a strategy to expand its presence in the manufacturing and distribution of prepared foods.
At the beginning of the year, JBS also ventured into the Australian meat market through the acquisition of Rivelia, another pork processor, making the company “the leader in pork processing in the country” according to the Brazillian meat giant.
