Tyson Completes Hudson Deal; Lauds Top Safety Performers
Hudson Foods brings 12,000 employees and 1,200 additional contract growers to Tyson Foods, the world's largest poultry processor.
The merger with Hudson will bring Tyson's annual sales to a projected $8 billion.
Tyson Chairman and CEO Leland Tollett indicated plans to continue operating all of the 14 processing facilities acquired in the Hudson deal. He anticipates no major layoffs as a result of the merger.
Bad publicity plagued Hudson, the meat and poultry processor based in Rogers, Ark., following an E. coli outbreak at its beef plant in Columbus, Neb., this summer. Not surprisingly, Tyson has announced in a release that "some changes in the Hudson brand names are expected, including the phasing out of the Hudson brand over the coming weeks."
Tyson announces Excellence in Safety Award winners
Tyson President and COO Donald "Buddy" Wray joined Director of Corporate Safety Mike Edmunds in honoring the company's top plants for safety at the shareholders meeting. The officers presented the Third Annual Excellence in Safety Awards to Tyson plants that achieved the best overall safety records in the company's respective operating categories.
Tyson also recognized 14 plants as winners of the Chairman's Safety Circle Award, which it presents to plants boasting one million or more man-hours without a lost-time injury. The company also awarded 72 of its operations for working a year or more without a lost-time accident.
| Awards Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Further Processing Facilities | North Little Rock Processing (North Little Rock, AR) |
| Slaughter Facilities | Glen Allen Processing (Glen Allen, VA) |
| Distribution/Warehousing | Fayetteville Freezer (Fayetteville, AR) |
| Animal Foods Ingredients Facilities | River Valley Animal Foods (Center, TX) |
| Feedmills/Feed Delivery | Forest Feed Mill (Forest, MS) |
| Hatcheries | Morrilton Hatchery (Morrilton, AR) |
| Live Haul Operations | Waldron Live Haul (Waldron, AR) |
| Seafood Group | Pier 91 Processing Plant (Seattle, WA) |
By Mike Pehanich