TriFoods revives brand, puts life back into small New England town
by Larry Aylward, managing editor
TriFoods International Inc. is putting the sizzle back into sales of Steak-umm, the thinly sliced sandwich steak. And in doing so, the Pomfret, Conn.-based food manufacturer is helping to revive a pastoral area of New England hindered by economic hardship.
TriFoods, formerly known as Designer Foods and founded in 1987, acquired Steak-umm from the Ore Ida division of H.J. Heinz Inc. for $15 million in April 1994. The company also purchased a 176,000-square-foot processing plant in Pomfret from bankrupt Idle Wild Farms, and moved its headquarters there from Chadds Ford, Pa., so it could manufacture its own products.
TriFoods invested $2.5 million in renovations for the plant. In addition, the company created about 300 jobs, and is the largest employer and taxpayer in the area. Steak-umm sales soared 25 percent in the first quarter of 1995, compared to the previous year's quarter when the brand was owned by Ore-Ida, the company claims. Sales were up 31 percent in the fourth quarter of 1994 compared to the same time period in 1993.
TriFoods is headed by Gerard J. Hart, a meat industry veteran at 37. The president and CEO of TriFoods joined struggling Designer Foods in 1991, when annual sales were about $1 million. In 1992, sales were $29 million. In 1994, sales escalated to $37 million. TriFoods estimates sales between $60 million and $70 million for 1995.
The Steam-umm acquisition has a lot to do with increased sales. TriFoods also reduced costs because it is now manufacturing its own products, instead of making them exclusively in partnerships with other companies.
Hart, the former president and CEO of the New Zealand Lamb Co. and former president of I. Kaplan Inc., a specialty veal and lamb processor, sounds like a football coach when he talks of his strategy for success. Basically, his managing style deals with motivation. Hart is also willing to play the role of a Mississippi gambler and take some risks.
"It's a matter of getting people to believe in something, and to focus on a goal and meet that goal," Hart says. "You can't do anything in business unless you've got people motivated to do it, and you've got the culture to allow it to happen."
Building on Steak-umm
TriFoods manufactures and sells its products through several outlets, including restaurant chains; retail, convenience and deli stores; foodservice; clubs and specialty accounts.
In addition to Steak-umm, the company's cash generator, TriFoods manufactures Buffalo Bites for Bojangles, a Southeast United States restaurant chain; a line of breakfast, dinner and soup entrees, which are co-packed for retail sale for Bob Evans Farms, TriFoods' biggest customer in the category; and a variety of poultry products for retail sale.
TriFoods has invested heavily in prepared foods and launched a new line-Meals to Go-in June. The products in the line, which feature meatballs, beef tips and pot roast, can be merchandised as refrigerated with a shelf life of 14 days. TriFoods shipped its first order of Meals to Go to San Antonio, Texas-based retailer H.E. Butt.
"The shelf life provides the retailer with a longer window to sell the product and it provides the consumer with the ability to store it in a refrigerator for a long period of time," says Jim Morgan, TriFoods senior vice president. "That will give us a leg up in terms of merchandising strategy."
Morgan acknowledges that Meals to Go is not price competitive with Healthy Choice or Budget Gourmet. "We are focusing on the high-quality segment of the business," he says. "We want these to be high-quality meals that can be made quickly at home."
TriFoods may also co-pack a line for Wal-Mart. It is currently testing The Chef, a line of refrigerated prepared foods, with the retailer.
"We're awaiting feedback from [Wal-Mart] to determine where [it] wants to go with it," Morgan notes.
TriFoods also relaunched Red-L frozen hors d'oeuvres, a seasonal line it acquired from Idle Wild Farms. "We'll do close to $3 million in business for Red-L this year," Morgan claims. "When we took that business over, it was near zero."
But Steak-umm is TriFoods clean-up hitter, and the company is investing in its future. In the first quarter of 1995, the company launched a national free-standing insert, the first one that had been done on the product in more than five years. About 60 million coupons were dropped.
Hart says TriFoods wanted to acquire a product that already had a recognizable name and exposure. Steak-umm fit the bill.
"It's the classic story of taking a brand that has just been out there and trying to revive it and put some energy and excitement behind it," Hart says.
Ore-Ida officials believed Steak-umm's success had peaked, TriFoods officials say. Ore-Ida cut back its marketing efforts, but still made money on the product, Morgan says.
"It was a positive cash generation business for Ore-Ida," Morgan adds. "But [Ore-Ida] just didn't focus on it. Steak-umm was a little beef company inside a massive potato company."
TriFoods is now manufacturing chicken Steak-umm, and there may be other new products under its name, including a Steak-umm barbecue pork patty.
"Steak-umm has a lot of potential for new products and different ways of using the product under the brand name," Hart claims. "It has high awareness level throughout the United States. It is something we can build upon. Down the road, there may be international opportunities."
TriFoods manufactures between 40,000 pounds and 62,000 pounds of Steak-umm per shift, which adds up to about 4,000 cases. Richard Graham, production coordinator of the plant's Steak-umm operation, says there are two key elements to the manufacturing operation: proper protein extraction and tempering.
The operation begins in the chop and grind department, where fresh and frozen beef are mixed together in a bowl chopper.
"It's imperative to obtain the proper protein extraction for binding so the molds hold together," Graham points out.
Product is then extruded through a pump into 23-pound logs, which are stored in a blast freezer. The logs are then moved into tempering cells.
"Tempering is critical," Graham notes. "If the meat is hard, it curls. If the meat is soft, it twists and bends."
TriFoods also utilizes Texturite, a patented method for restructuring undervalued meat cuts and trimmings. The process weaves meat together, resulting in superior texture and taste to flaked and ground competitive meat products, the company claims. Texturite is used in the company's manufacturing of boneless barbecued pork, beef and chicken products.
"We believe [Texturite] has many applications that we haven't even started to scratch the surface of," Hart says.
Small-town life
Pomfret, population 3,300, and surrounding towns, such as Dayville and Putnam, are prototypal of New England, with winding roads through hilly, rural, scenic countryside.
But an abandoned woolen mill in Dayville, a short drive from TriFoods headquarters, is an eyesore with its shattered windows and peeling paint. Overgrown weeds and broken bottles are strewn across the weather-beaten parking lot. The forsaken plant portrays apathy.
But TriFoods' presence and Hart's positive mental attitude could rub off on the area. As a resident, Hart has the company involved in community activities, such as sponsoring spring clean-ups and providing scholarship funds for area students. Several executives live in the area.
"In a small community, you have to step up and make a commitment," Hart says. "There's no question we have helped [the area's] economic base."
Windham County, where Pomfret is located, has the highest unemployment rate in Connecticut. It is now under 6 percent, but was more than 10 percent when Idle Wild Farms shut down, according to Stanley S. Sheldon, Pomfret's first selectman.
"When Idle Wild Farms closed, there was a tremendous impact," Sheldon says. "It was a tremendous welcome when TriFoods came in and started hiring."
Graham says his acquaintances often ask him if there are any job openings at TriFoods. Graham worked at the plant when it was owned by Idle Wild Farms for eight years and says there is a world of difference between the two companies' operations and management.
"At Idle Wild Farms, we were numbers," Graham says of the employees. "That may be the reason why it failed, because morale was so low."
Graham was out of work for five months when Idle Wild closed down in October 1993. He jumped at the chance to come back when TriFoods reopened the plant. So did about 25 percent of the Idle Wild Farms work force.
"It's like one big, happy family now," Graham says. "I'm very sincere when I say that. The company cares about the people-from every aspect."
Steve Kacerik, the business unit supervisor of the prepared foods division, worked at Idle Wild Farms for 14 years and says the experience was "devastating" when the plant closed. But Hart offered Kacerik a job and he, like Graham, didn't think twice about returning.
"Employees at TriFoods are told everything-good or bad," Kacerik claims. "I wasn't used to that before."
It's Hart's goal to create a working environment where everyone is heard. "We've tried to keep it as open and straightforward as possible," Hart says. "We want people to feel like they can truly make a difference."
What lies ahead?
TriFoods will have sales of $250 million and employ 500 people by the turn of the century if Hart has his way. Despite its name, TriFoods International is not yet universal. It does a small amount of business in Canada, but that's it for now.
"As fast as we've been growing, the international side is something we are definitely focused on, but it's not in the immediate future," Hart claims. "We are going to be looking at Southeast Asia. We've had some inquiries from that marketplace as it relates to Steak-umm."
There are no immediate plans for physical expansion. Hart says the company will focus on the issues of the day, such as food safety and satisfying consumer demand.
TriFoods is dedicated to a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point program.
"You have to be in the forefront of anything as it relates to initiatives to ensure the quality of your products," Hart says. "You don't need the government to tell you that."
Thanks to TriFoods, the heart of Pomfret Center is beating stronger. Residents there would be wise to serve Steak-umm for dinner a few nights a week, just for safekeeping.
"Having this business back up and running has definitely helped the community," Hart says. "In terms of our involvement and people's attitudes, I think they feel good that TriFoods is here-and here to stay."