Leading U.S. Pork
Producer Optimizes
Supply Chain
From the popularity of baby-back ribs to the national
obsession with bacon, Americans have an avid appetite
for pork. The Maschhoffs -- the largest family-owned pork
NOTE WRITTEN BY
Rockwell Automation
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
Rockwell Automation
Challenge
Running any large farming operation
is a complex undertaking. That’s
particularly true in modern pig
producer in the United States – helps satisfy that hunger
raising, which entails a continuous
from its headquarters in Carlyle, Illinois.
logistics challenge: the need to move
In 2014, the company sold nearly
Today, The Maschhoffs’ pig operation
different stages of growth.
$1 billion in pork -- enough to feed
employs about 1,500 employees.
over 16 million average consumers
Contracting with production partners
annually.
– about 550 family farmers across
Like many major agricultural
the Midwest – the company sells
operations, The Maschhoffs started
about 5 million live hogs annually.
with a single family farm. For five
The buyers are packing plants and
generations, The Maschhoffs grew
food producers such as Cargill,
row crops and raised cattle.
Hormel Foods and Farmland.
But brothers Ken and Dave
The Maschhoffs provide pigs and
Maschhoff returned to the farm
feed to their production partners, and
home from college with bigger
pay the farmers for the time, labor
dreams. In 1991 they bought their
and space necessary to raise the
parents’ share of the business and
hogs.
began expanding the operation.
pigs to specialized farm sites at
Solution
The Maschhoffs analyzed different
supply-chain modeling packages in
tandem with a group of graduate
business students from Washington
University at St. Louis. As part of a
special project with the company,
the students evaluated dozens of
solutions. Arena®software was their
No. 1 recommendation.
Results
The Rockwell Automation team
met the accelerated deadline. The
result? Regional modeling and
analysis pointed to four management
regions, balancing efficiencies in flow,
transportation and feed costs with
the utilization of contracted sites.
Rockwell Automation
The results mentioned above are
specific to The Maschhoffs’ use of
Rockwell Automation products and
services in conjunction with other
products. Specific results may vary
for other customers.
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