Butterball gobbles up pork producer

GARNER, N.C. — Butterball has moved to diversify its product portfolio with the acquisition of family-owned and operated Gusto Packing Co., located in Montgomery, Ill.



Gusto Packing Co. offers six basic product lines: Hickory & Apple Wood Smoked Bacon, Bone-In Smoked Pork & Turkey Products, Smoked Boneless Hams, Cooked Hams, Pork & Turkey Deli Meats and Spiral Sliced Hams.



"We are pleased to welcome the Gusto team to the Butterball family and look forward to working closely together," said Rod Brenneman, CEO of Butterball. "With Gusto's 260,000-sq.-ft. facility, we are adding approximately 325 million pounds of further processed capacity to our operations. This additional capacity allows us to support Butterball branded geographic expansion and achieve greater account penetration within current markets. It also affords us the ability to develop and manufacture innovative products for the Butterball brand."



"The Butterball brand remains intensely focused on its core product offering, which is turkey. The acquisition provides Gusto with the opportunity to benefit from a national logistics and distribution network and further enhance quality and food safety initiatives," added Brenneman.



The Gusto Packing Co. leadership team as well as approximately 500 employees are expected to remain in their current positions.