Present - 2001

  • 1998 – 2005—Expanded into international markets, purchasing operations and entering into partnerships in France, Poland, Canada (sold in 2004), China, Mexico, Spain, the U.K., Brazil and Romania. Also branched into new areas including foodservice and ready-to-eat with the acquisitions of numerous domestic companies
  • 2001—Smithfield Beef Group became the nation's fifth-largest beef processor with the acquisition of Moyer Packing Co. and Packerland Holdings
  • 2003—Acquired Farmland Foods, the sixth-largest U.S. pork processor
  • 2005—The purchase of MF Cattle Feeding, forming a joint venture with ContiBeef, created the nation's largest cattle feeding company
  • 2007—Jointly acquired Sara Lee's European Meats business with large positions in France, Portugal, the Netherlands and Germany, making Groupe Smithfield the largest packaged meats producer in Europe
  • 2007—Acquired the branded meats business of ConAgra Foods, Inc. (including well-known brands Armour and Eckrich), increasing packaged meats operations in the U.S. by 20 percent
  • 2007—Acquired Butterball, the largest U.S. turkey producer, through a joint venture
  • 2007—Acquired Premium Standard Farms, expanding hog production from 14 to 17 percent and pork processing from 26 to 31 percent of the U.S. total
  • 2007—Sales at $12 billion for fiscal 2007

2000 - 1966

  • 1975—Luter rejoined the company as chairman and CEO
  • 1981—Purchased Gwaltney® of Smithfield, its first major acquisition, expanding Smithfield Foods into the Eastern region
  • 1984—Purchased Patrick Cudahy™, a 100-year-old Wisconsin company known for its sweet apple-wood smoked sausages, bacon and ham, Smithfield Foods' first presence outside the East coast
  • 1986—Acquired Baltimore's Schluderberg-Kurdle, or Esskay
  • 1987—Began to produce its own hogs through a joint venture with Carroll's Foods
  • 1990—Smithfield Foods differentiates itself in the marketplace, managing its supply of hogs from conception to processing to produce more consistent, higher-quality, leaner meat products
  • 1992—Opened the world's largest and most modern meat processing facility in Tar Heel, N.C.
  • 1994—First Smithfield Lean Generation Pork™ debuted in foodservice operations
  • 1995—Purchased John Morrell & Co., expanding its reach throughout the Midwest from Minnesota to Texas
  • 1996—Smithfield Lean Generation Pork™ introduced on a large scale in supermarkets, revolutionizing the industry
  • 1998—Acquired Circle Four Farms, a longtime hog production partner
  • 1999—Purchased Carroll's Foods, the nation's fourth-largest hog producer
  • 2000—Acquired Murphy Farms, Inc., the largest hog producer in the U.S. The combined hog raising entity, Murphy-Brown, LLC, turned Smithfield Foods into the leading hog producer in the world

1965 - 1936

  • 1936—Joseph W. Luter, Sr. and Joseph W. Luter, Jr. opened Smithfield Packing plant in Smithfield, Va.
  • 1962—Joseph W. Luter, III joined the company and served as president from 1966 – 1969