IBP, Inc.
 | |
| meat processing (subsidiary of Tyson Foods) | |
| Industry | Meat packing |
| Founded | Denison, Iowa, 1960 (acquired by Tyson 2001) |
| Headquarters | Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, USA |
IBP, Inc., formerly known as Iowa Beef Processors, Inc., now Tyson Fresh Meats, is an American meat packing company based in Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, USA. IBP was the United States' biggest beef packer and its number two pork processor. To reflect the company's multiple operations, the company changed its name to Iowa Beef Processors, Inc. in 1970. After the company expanded operations to pork and other areas, Iowa Beef Processors, Inc., became IBP, Inc. Occidental Petroleum owned IBP from 1981 to 1987, and was the majority owner from 1987 to 1991.[1][2]
The original IBP features prominently in Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation as the company that closed down the Chicago meatpacking district as a result of its industrial practices. Founded as Iowa Beef Packers, Inc. in March 17, 1960 by Currier J. Holman and A.D. Anderson, it opened its first slaugherhouse in Denison, Iowa, and eliminated the need for skilled workers
In 1967, IBP introduced boxed beef and pork, which were vacuum packed and in smaller portions. It was a new option then, when the traditional method of shipping product was in whole carcass form. The boxed meat also saved energy and transportation costs by eliminating the shipment of fat, bones and trimmings.
When workers in the IBP plant in Dakota City went on strike in 1969, Holman and three top executives held secret meetings with Moe Steinman, a 'labour consultant' with close ties to La Cosa Nostra, in New York, who helped to end the New York butchers' boycott (in support of the meatpackers' strike). After a lengthy investigation of mob involvement in the New York City meat business, Currier J. Holman and IBP were tried and convicted in 1974 for bribing union leaders and meat wholesalers.[3]
It was acquired by Tyson Foods in 2001 for US$3.2 billion in cash and stock.
References
- ↑ OCCIDENTAL TO ACQUIRE IOWA BEEF
- ↑ Occidental Will Sell Its Stake in Iowa Beef Unit
- ↑ , Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation, pp. 154-155, Penguin Books, 2002
- Iowa State University. "Adding Value to Beef Production - Section 3.3 (PDF file)" (PDF). Retrieved February 25, 2006.
- Ackman, Dan (January 2, 2001). "Men Of Meat". Forbes.com.
- Bill Ganzel. "Beef, Feedlots, and IBP (web page)". Retrieved April 5, 2008.
External links
Coordinates: 42°30′12.72″N 96°28′52.55″W / 42.5035333°N 96.4812639°W