Monogram Food Solutions, LLC, the Memphis-based manufacturer of value-added processed meats, has acquired Hinsdale Farms of Bristol, Indiana, one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of corn dogs, with a special focus on retail private label customers and co-packing for other manufacturers.
The acquisition of Hinsdale makes this the fourth processed-meat manufacturing plant owned by Monogram, including plants in Muncie, Ind., Martinsville, Va. and Chandler, Minn.
The Hinsdale acquisition includes the company’s 110,000 square foot manufacturing plant and 300 employees, all of whom will be offered a position on the Monogram team, according to Karl Schledwitz, Monogram’s chairman and chief executive officer.
“The Hinsdale acquisition is a perfect fit for Monogram,’’ Schledwitz said, in a prepared statement. “Our goal is to integrate Hinsdale into Monogram’s manufacturing and sales systems as Monogram grows its position among the nation’s leading manufacturers of processed meats. Hinsdale will help us continue to provide consumers with our top-quality meat products that are distributed regionally and nationally.’’
According to Schledwitz, Monogram plans during the coming year to spend $4 million to $5 million in capital improvements on the Hinsdale plant designed to increase production and employment.
Monogram purchased Hinsdale Farms from brothers, Philip M. Smith and Milton C. Smith, the third generation of their family to operate the business since its founding in 1945.
To complete the Hinsdale acquisition, Monogram raised $12.5 million in new equity, mostly from high net-worth individuals living in the Memphis area, said David Dunavant, Monogram’s chief financial officer. Financing the acquisition is being handled by a syndicate of banks including Bank of Montreal/Harris Bank (BMO), Wells Fargo and Iberia Bank.
“Selecting banking partners who are experts in our industry and have the desire to grow with Monogram was very important to us,” Dunavant said. “This banking group is a perfect fit for Monogram’s strategy for growth from within and through acquisitions.”
