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Sierra Meat & Seafood invests in factory enhancement
The US-based company, owned by the Flocchini Family, will invest up to $175,000 to knock down factory walls and buy new equipment as the business targets operational improvements.
Thomas Ryan, senior vice-president of marketing at Sierra Meat & Seafood, told GlobalMeatNews the capital investment push was exciting for the third-generation family business.
‘Always in growth mode’
“We’re underway to do some capital investment to really improve the production flow of our processing facility,” said Ryan.
“We’re going to open up a few walls [in the factory], we’re making investment in some chill cabinets, some multi-vac packaging machines and we’re also going to add another smokehouse.”
Ryan said the business did not have any debt, which allowed it to reinvest much of its returned earnings in improving the business. “We’re always in a growth mode here – and we’re very lucky in that way,” he added.
Efficiency gains
“The biggest part of the expansion is going to be the reframing of the building, so that we have a much smoother flow. Right now we have some choke points that don’t necessarily make sense and we find we’re having to move around more than we need to. By breaking down some walls and creating an open floor space, we hope that we can produce food more efficiently and retrace our steps less.”
Plans for redesigning the factory are complete. Construction work is slated to start in mid-September, after the barbecue season begins to cool down.
For Sierra Meat & Seafood sister company Flocchini Family Provisions, the summer season is key for the business, which makes handcrafted, clean-label sausages.
The firm has recently launched a five-strong range of Certified Angus Beef sausages and frankfurters using only whole muscle cuts.
All of the sausages are free from nitrates, phosphates, with no added monosodium glutamate or gluten.
In addition to Flocchini Family Provisions, Sierra Meat & Seafood also runs Durham Ranch, a farm in Wyoming with 5,000 bison. Durham Ranch also has 2,000 wagyu cattle at a farm in Iowa.
