Formerly operating under Allied Mills, the Poultry Division of ContiGroup Companies, Wayne Farms LLC is the sixth largest vertically integrated

Vertical integration

In microeconomics and management, the term vertical integration describes a style of management control. Vertically integrated companies in a supply chain are united through a common owner. Usually each member of the supply chain produces a different product or service, and the products combine to...

 producer and processor of poultry

Poultry

Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...

 in the United States. Since its spin-off in 1965, Wayne Farms has grown its processing capacity to 250 million chickens annually. As a subsidiary of ContiGroup, Wayne Farms operates hatcheries

Hatchery

A hatchery is a facility where eggs are hatched under artificial conditions, especially those of fish or poultry. It may be used for ex-situ conservation purposes, i.e. to breed rare or endangered species under controlled conditions; alternatively, it may be for economic reasons A hatchery is a...

, feed mills, finishing farms, and processing facilities to supply poultry to retail and foodservice customers worldwide. Its 13 processing facilities span the southeast region of the United States with its corporate headquarters located in Oakwood, Georgia

Oakwood, Georgia

Oakwood is a city in Hall County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Gainesville, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,689 at the 2000 census...

.

Products

Wayne Farms LLC sells fresh, frozen, boneless, and fully cooked poultry to retail and foodservice customers worldwide. The company sells its poultry products under the brands of Wayne Farms, Dutch Quality House, and Platinum Harvest.

In addition to its own brands, the company’s poultry products can also be found packaged under the labels of Campbell Soup Company

Campbell Soup Company

Campbell Soup Company , also known as Campbell's, is an American producer of canned soups and related products. Campbell's products are sold in 120 countries around the world. It is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey...

, Zatarain's

Zatarain's

Zatarain's is a food and spice company. It was started in the New Orleans suburb of Gretna by Emile A. Zatarain, Sr., who took out a trademark and began to market root beer in 1889. He expanded his product range to include mustard, pickled vegetables, and extracts.Then he moved into the spice...

, ConAgra Foods, Nestlé

Nestlé

Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...

, Gordon Food Service

Gordon Food Service

Gordon Food Service is the largest privately held foodservice distributor in North America with sales of $5.5 billion in 2007. Headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, GFS has GFS Marketplace stores in the states of Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee...

 and Healthy Choice

Healthy Choice

Healthy Choice is the name of a brand of refrigerated and frozen foods owned by ConAgra Foods, Inc. According to ConAgra's official corporate history, it came into being after then-ConAgra CEO Charles "Mike" Harper suffered a heart attack in 1985...

 brands. Although the company does not sell its products on the retail market, customers of Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A |"fillet"]]) is a quick service restaurant chain headquartered in College Park, Georgia, United States, specializing in chicken entrées and is known for promoting the company founder's claims of Christian values. Long associated with the southern United States, where it has been a...

, Jack in the Box, and Applebee's

Applebee's

Applebee’s International, Inc., is an American company which develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar restaurant chain. As of September 2011, there were 2,010 restaurants operating system-wide in the United States, one U.S. territory and 14 other countries...

 restaurants can find Wayne Farms poultry in the products that these businesses serve.

History

After its initial offshoot from Allied Mills in 1965, Wayne Farms operated in Albertville

Albertville, Alabama

Albertville is a city in Marshall County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 21,160.- History :...

 and Union Springs, Alabama

Union Springs, Alabama

Union Springs is a town in Bullock County, Alabama, United States. The population was 3,670 at the 2000 census.-History:The area that became Union Springs was first settled by white men after the Creek Indian removal of the 1830s. Twenty-seven springs watered the land, giving rise to the name of...

. Eventually, the company acquired processing plants in Danville, Arkansas

Danville, Arkansas

Danville is a city in Yell County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 2,392 at the 2000 census. Along with Dardanelle, it is one of two county seats for Yell County.Danville is part of the Russellville Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

, Laurel, Mississippi

Laurel, Mississippi

Laurel is a city located in Jones County in Mississippi, a state of the United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 18,393 although a significant population increase has been reported following Hurricane Katrina. Located in southeast Mississippi, southeast of...

, Decatur, Alabama

Decatur, Alabama

Decatur is a city in Limestone and Morgan Counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. The city, affectionately known as "The River City", is located in Northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler Lake, along the Tennessee River. It is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County...

, Dobson, North Carolina

Dobson, North Carolina

Dobson is a town in Dobson Township, Surry County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 1,457. It is the county seat of Surry County...

, Pendergrass, Georgia

Pendergrass, Georgia

Pendergrass is a city in Jackson County, Georgia, United States. The population was 431 at the time of the 2000 census.-Geography:Pendergrass is located at ....

, Enterprise, Alabama

Enterprise, Alabama

Enterprise is a city in the southeastern part of Coffee and Dale Counties in the southeastern part of Alabama in the Southern United States. The population was estimated to be 25,909 in the year 2009....

 and College Park, Georgia

College Park, Georgia

College Park is a city located partly in Fulton County, Georgia and partially in Clayton County, Georgia, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 13,942...

.

The Dutch Quality House brand was created in 1978, and acquired by the company in 1985 through the purchase of a processing plant in Oakwood, Georgia

Oakwood, Georgia

Oakwood is a city in Hall County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Gainesville, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,689 at the 2000 census...

. Additionally, the company purchased plants in Bossier City, Louisiana

Bossier City, Louisiana

Bossier City is a city in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States.As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of 61,315. Bossier City is closely tied to its larger sister city Shreveport, located on the western bank of the Red River. The Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan area is the...

 and Douglas, Georgia

Douglas, Georgia

Douglas is a city in Coffee County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 11,589. Douglas is the county seat of Coffee County and the core city of the Douglas, Georgia Micropolitan Statistical Area which has a population of 48,708 as of the 2008 census...

 and built two new plants in Decatur, Alabama

Decatur, Alabama

Decatur is a city in Limestone and Morgan Counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. The city, affectionately known as "The River City", is located in Northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler Lake, along the Tennessee River. It is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County...

. The company later sold the Bossier City location in October 2005.

See also

• ContiGroup Companies, Inc, Wayne Farms LLC parent company
• Premium Standard Farms, Inc, a sister company