By LAURIE KIEFABER
Indiana Correspondent

DELPHI, Ind. — Indiana Packers Corp. in Delphi is contributing to America’s role as meat source for the world, processing about 17,000 hogs per day and employing 1,850 people.

Approximately 100 semi loads of hogs arrive daily from hundreds of farms in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio. Approximately the same number leave each day, carrying 3.5 million pounds of pork products. Indiana Packers also exports about 25 percent of its product to foreign countries, including Canada, Mexico and other Central American countries, Brazil, Peru, Chili, Uruguay, South Africa, Angola, Kazakhstan, Japan, Australia, Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
Needless to say, the company president feels the corporation has a bright future. “I’m optimistic,” said Gary Jacobson, president and chief operating officer of Indiana Packers Corp. “The world economy is in flux, but the U.S. has the ability (to contribute worldwide). America used to be known as the breadbasket of the world, but now it’s also the protein source. We do more economically than anyone else in the world.

“It’s all speculative. With all the turmoil in the world, everything can change in a heartbeat, but right now I’m optimistic (on the industry’s outlook).”
David Murray, vice president of livestock procurement for Indiana Packers, echoed Jacobson’s sentiments. “Our domestic market has been solid, and I expect that to continue,” he said. “Our export markets continue to be strong.”
Murray anticipates a 2 percent increase in pork product demand across the board this year. Because of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, exports have been affected.

“Initial orders have increased drastically (from Japan),” Jacobson said. “Whether it will be sustained or not, we don’t know. There are other logistical problems, like not enough containers to cover products needed. And people are going to Kobe (Japan) for unloading because ships are better able to get in and out there.”

While TV news coverage of Japan seems to have dropped off, Jacobson and other Indiana Packers employees have been following reports as closely as they can because the company is Japanese-owned.

“The human suffering there has been so bad,” Jacobson said. “An 80-foot tall wall of water came eight miles inland and stripped the land. There’s the human loss, it’s winter, they don’t have homes, there’s no heat or electricity ...”
Many employees have made donations to the Japan-America Society of Indiana, as they have been assured that 100 percent of donations go to Japan, Jacobson said.

Indiana Packers exports lots of pork bellies to Japan, which they use for flavoring. However, many other cuts such as butts, ribs and tenderloins go overseas as well.

The Delphi plant is one of many Hoosier businesses with some Japanese ownership. In February 1994, Mitsubishi took over controlling interest (80 percent) of Indiana Packers with Itoham Food, Inc. (20 percent) – similar to America’s Oscar Mayer, according to the company website and Murray.
Indiana Packers began as a partnership between Central Soya and Mitsubishi Corp. While production began in 1991, ground was broken in 1989 on a former Carroll County farm south of Delphi in the heart of the Corn Belt. The area was chosen because of rich agricultural resources and at the time, it held the title as the largest hog-producing area of the state.

Jacobson said facilities have expanded since 2001, with increased rendering capacity, an added carcass cooler and moving from a four-door garage/holding area for product loading to a 15-door area. In December 2006, the company added a hot lunch cafeteria, with cold lunch separate.
The company has had its own wastewater treatment facility for years, allowing an average discharge of 800,000 gallons of pretreated water per day into the city’s water system, Jacobson said.

Other plant innovations have come with assistance from industry experts such as Temple Grandin, a well-known and respected ag author and meat industry innovator. “I know Temple well,” Jacobson said. “I’ve worked with her and she designed a walk-up here. Throughout the industry, we use statistics on inclines she’s designed. She’s been active in training for livestock handlers and she helped put together our manual.”

While Indiana Packers has seen many changes over the years, the company’s product sales have remained strong, with advantages in a flagging economy. “Eating is not discretionary spending,” Jacobson said. “Pork is good value in tough economic times.”

He also believes in everyone associated with the pork industry being profitable, from the pork producer to the retailer and wholesaler. “There’s got to be a balance,” he said. “Everyone needs to make a living.”
Jacobson has been involved with the meat industry for years and is a third-generation butcher. His grandfather came from Norway and became a butcher in Cottage Grove, Wis., near Madison. His father was a butcher in Madison, starting Jacobson’s Meat there.

Gary Jacobson has a commitment to the industry and his employees appear to be developing similar feelings. According to Murray, 50 percent have worked at Indiana Packers for one year. The other half have been there more than three years, and 15 percent have been with the company more than 10 years.
Last month, the company also began a marketing campaign to promote bacon with newspaper inserts, radio ads and a new website, www.baconloversbacon.com
Products from Indiana Packers can be found under the Indiana Kitchen label at Marsh and select Kroger stores. Consumers can find a store at www.inpac.com