Slaughterhouses, Packing Plants and Meatworks
The plants and stockyards that turned cattle into beef, and the companies behind them.
14 profiles
Illinois
- 1865-1971Union Stock Yards (Chicago)For more than a century, cattle from the whole country rode the rails to a 320-acre South Side complex that set the…Illinois
- Armour and CompanyPhilip Armour and his brothers started in a rented plant on the Chicago River and grew into one of the nation's…Illinois
- Morris & CompanyA German immigrant who reached Chicago at 15 built a packer with ranches, canning and nearly a hundred branches.Illinois
- Swift & CompanyGustavus Swift's decision to kill cattle in Chicago and ship the meat east built one of the Big Five packers.Illinois
- 1868-1970sLibby, McNeill & LibbyA Chicago partnership built on packed beef turned canned meat into a national and export business, then passed through…Illinois
Brazil
- 1992-presentMinerva FoodsA cattle-hauling family bought its first slaughterhouse in 1992 and built a beef business spanning five South American…Brazil
- est. 2000MarfrigMarcos Molina's company grew from a slaughterhouse purchase in Mato Grosso do Sul to a listed multinational with U.S.…Brazil
- 1953-presentJBS S.A.José Batista Sobrinho opened Casa de Carnes Mineira in Anápolis in 1953, and his company later bought Swift and became…Brazil
Kansas
- 1936-2004Excel CorporationA packer that moved from Chicago to Wichita became a Cargill subsidiary and, with IBP and ConAgra, handled most of the…Kansas
- 1979-presentCargill Meat SolutionsThe meat business of a company founded as an Iowa grain warehouse in 1865 now ranks among North America's largest beef…Kansas