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Local meat firm continues to grow When Larry Bender took over his tather‘s. Theodore Bender’s, meat packing plant In 1971. the company was slaughtering about 3.000 cattle and 3.000 hogs per year. In 1987. Bruce Packers Ltd. on Bruce County Road a, lust north at Paisley's village limits. was slaughtering 5.724 cat~ tie a year and approximately 7.200 hogs. On top of this, Bender. 46. the owner or the company. said there has been a tremendous Increase in the amount at unprocessed meal the company has purchased irom other packers in recent years In 1871, the company bought very little meat from other packers. the owner said. (All meat purchased has been done so to be lurther pro- cessed under the Bruce Packers‘ label, Sender said). Since 1971. Bruce Packers Ltd. has been doing more business and steadily improving each year. “Sales (in terms or dollars) have increased every year. partly due to Increased prices but mostly due to Increased business." Bender said. "ll you looked at 1971 and 1987 there would be a dramatic dlitarence in total sales per year," he said, "I at» tlbule this to good service. to continued etiort by myself and by my employees." Bender also attributes his company‘s success to It‘s at tltude of not turning business avray. Belore Bruce Packers Ltd. was born in 1952 (approxr imately). Theodore Bender had a butcher shop In Paisley plus an abattoir on the present company site, It was in 1952 that the older Bender decided to get rid ot the butcher shop and go strictly into custom killing. Larry Bender began working at his iather‘s meat pecking plant as soon as he got out ol high school. He worked lor several years with the company. doing everything item working on the killing lloor to driving on the road making deliveries Deidre he eventually became Bruce Packers Ltd.'s owner. In a way, It Is surprising that Bender‘s company has done so well because meat packing in a highly competitive Industry. The l‘lliley Advoflll. Wmnndly. January 27, ID”. i Since Larry Bender unit over the Bruce Packers Ltd. plant: ,just north ofl’aisley, in 1971, the num- ber of company employees has increased from 18 to close to 40. Continued on Pa 5 7 Benefits to being small i Continued from Page 1 (Sax-y Nickel hauls along plate of beef into the cutting room at the Bruce Packers Ltd. plant, just north of Paisley. located in cities to the south do. Bruce Packers Ltd, Is a wholesaler In a full line oi lresh meats which Includes beet. pork and some lamb. It also has a custom killing business, And recently, It has been getting more and more into processed meats such as sausages, ham, bacon. bologna and welrrers. Bender said processed meat has been the biggest growth area in his business In the last live years. He said any future expansion of Bruce Packers' business would probably move In that direction Bruce Packers Ltd, has 350 regular customer: Bender‘s three refrigerated trucks serve an area from Tobermory in the north to Kitchener and Stratford In the south and from Goderlch in the west to Mealord In the east, Once a week, a truckload oi meat is also shipped to Toronto. Although the company's customers Include Knechtel's supermarkets, EMA. Zehr's. Dutch Boy supermarkets In Kit- chener. ch and National Grocers, a large number ol customers are not stores. Bruce Packers sells a lot of Its meat directly to restaurants. hotels, catering companies, taverns, abattelrs. nursing homes and oven churches. Although located in a large livestock producing area. Bender has no choice as to where he buys his hogs. He has to buy them through the Ontario Pork Producers marketing board. He buys all his hogs tram the Producer's Harrlsion outlet. , He does however purchase his cettle directly trom i tarmets on a private contract basis. Although he buys cat I tie in an area that stretches Item Wlarton to Llstowel. 80 per cent-oi the company’s cattle ls purchased within 20 miles oi the plant. Bender said. "Contrary to what many people may think, wholesale meal prices are changed on a daily basrs according to sup ply and demand.“ Bender said Adding to this competitive atmosphere among com- panies is the ram that meat Is a perishable commodity. It must he sold w thin a short period oi time. Tlius sometimes competition between companies becomes very intense when several packers try to unload s milar products that have accumulated In storage areas because oi lack oi demand in a way Bender hasoeen able to prosper because he an- loys the advantages at being a medium-sized meat packing company 'I attribute a lair amount oi my success to the lacl that we‘re diversified and don‘t concentrate on specializing in one product (such as chickens, perk. been like many slaughterhouses do. ' Bender said. "Although this may not be as proliiable during certain periods, it also prevents me Irom iaklng huge losses at times at low demand,“ he said. Unlike other smaller slaughterhouses that must meet provincial inspection guidelines. Bruce Packers Ltd. Is a lederaiiy Inspected meal plant. A ioderai government In- spector Is on duty live days a week at the plant, “Because we have lederal inspectors. our standards have to be the same as Schnaldei’e or Canada Packers." Bender said. "The advantages surlace when we‘re selling products to larger organizations because some Insist on ledsraily lnSpecieo meal moving through thalr stores," he 53 Elui although Bruce Packers enloys the advantages at larger meat packing companies. It also benellts from being a smaller company as well. Bender Ihinks because his company ls privately owned. there Is a little more interest in keeping the company elli- cienl and prolilabie He leela someol the Iargercompanles have a tendency to become top-heavy with management. He also believes his overhead costs are lower than the bigger companies that are located In urban centres. Bruce Packers is In the middle at an area noted tor Its livestock, which means the company‘s raw material Is close at hand. And although Bender's market Is not concen- trated. it also means there Is little direct competition because more aren‘t that many slaughterhouses located nearby, Finally. Bender thinks he serves local stores with better personal service than larger more distant companies l l l otmml‘rfir-lelimiidl