Eckrich
Encyclopedia
Eckrich is a prepared meat brand owned by Smithfield Foods
. It sells smoked sausages, cold cuts
, hot dog
s, corn dog
s, Vienna sausage
s, breakfast sausage
s and bacon
under the Eckrich brand name.
Eckrich was founded as a local meat market in Fort Wayne, Indiana
in 1894 by Peter Eckrich, an immigrant from Waldsee
, Germany
. The firm expanded in the local market, becoming a wholesale
r in 1907 and incorporating as Peter Eckrich and Sons in 1925. It closed its last retail operation in 1932 and operated exclusively as a wholesale meat vendor. In 1972, thirty years after Peter Eckrich had died, Beatrice Foods
bought the firm and merged it into its Swift and Sons meat processing division in 1986 as Swift-Eckrich. Beatrice Foods' brands were sold off over the late 1980s, culminating in 1990 with the sale of many of its brands, including Eckrich, to ConAgra. ConAgra sold Eckrich to Smithfield Foods
on October 2, 2006.
Smithfield Foods
Smithfield Foods, Inc. is the world’s largest pork producer and processor. Headquartered in Smithfield, Virginia, it runs facilities in 26 U.S. states, including the world's largest meat-processing plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina, and has operations in Brazil, China, France, Mexico, Poland,...
. It sells smoked sausages, cold cuts
Cold Cuts
Cold Cuts is a 2002 live album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands. It was their first live album to be released in a gatefold/digipack case...
, hot dog
Hot dog
A hot dog is a sausage served in a sliced bun. It is very often garnished with mustard, ketchup, onions, mayonnaise, relish and/or sauerkraut.-History:...
s, corn dog
Corn dog
A corn dog is a hot dog sausage coated in a thick layer of cornmeal batter and deep fried in oil, although some are baked. Almost all corn dogs are served on wooden sticks, though some early versions had no stick.-History:...
s, Vienna sausage
Vienna sausage
A Vienna sausage is a kind of hot dog...
s, breakfast sausage
Breakfast sausage
Breakfast sausage is a type of fresh pork sausage usually served at breakfast in the United States. It is a common breakfast item in traditional American "farmer" or "country" breakfasts, as it originated as a way for farmers to make use of as much of their livestock as possible...
s and bacon
Bacon
Bacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...
under the Eckrich brand name.
Eckrich was founded as a local meat market in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
in 1894 by Peter Eckrich, an immigrant from Waldsee
Waldsee, Palatinate
Waldsee is a municipality in the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.It is situated approx. 3 km west of Speyer. Waldsee is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde Waldsee.-External links:*...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The firm expanded in the local market, becoming a wholesale
Wholesale
Wholesaling, jobbing, or distributing is defined as the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers, to industrial, commercial, institutional, or other professional business users, or to other wholesalers and related subordinated services...
r in 1907 and incorporating as Peter Eckrich and Sons in 1925. It closed its last retail operation in 1932 and operated exclusively as a wholesale meat vendor. In 1972, thirty years after Peter Eckrich had died, Beatrice Foods
Beatrice Foods
Beatrice Foods Company was a major American food processing company. In 1987, its smaller international food operations were sold to Reginald Lewis, a corporate attorney creating TLC Beatrice International, after which the majority of its domestic brands and assets were acquired by Kohlberg,...
bought the firm and merged it into its Swift and Sons meat processing division in 1986 as Swift-Eckrich. Beatrice Foods' brands were sold off over the late 1980s, culminating in 1990 with the sale of many of its brands, including Eckrich, to ConAgra. ConAgra sold Eckrich to Smithfield Foods
Smithfield Foods
Smithfield Foods, Inc. is the world’s largest pork producer and processor. Headquartered in Smithfield, Virginia, it runs facilities in 26 U.S. states, including the world's largest meat-processing plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina, and has operations in Brazil, China, France, Mexico, Poland,...
on October 2, 2006.