Topic: PREMIUM PORK
started by: MADDOG
Posted by MADDOG on Sep. 03 2003,9:26 am
No matter what anyone says, after reading this letter to the editor in the St. Joe's News Press Aug 30,2003, we should all breathe easier now:Rush to a TIF
Mayor Jones and the City Council are rushing to meet an Oct. 9 deadline for a $5.6 million TIF (tax increment financing district) to fund redevelopment of the stockyards area and are preparing to spend $7 million for sewer improvements, all for the recently announced Premium Pork plant. There are some fundamental questions about Premium Pork, however, that should be answered immediately before they spend anymore taxpayer money.
I have been skeptical of this proposed plant because of its unorthodox announcement. CEO Rick Hoffman showed up alone on July 3 to announce the $130 million plant without any company executives or staff. None of the hog producers who are supposed to own the company or the board of directors were there, nor were they identified. As of this writing, they are all still unknown. Even more important, the source of the $130 million has not been disclosed to the public. Why all the secrecy?
My skepticism reached the breaking point on Aug. 3, however, when the News-Press reported that Premium Pork bought the old Seaboard site in Elwood, Kan., from Cottonwood Investment. Why? And who is Cottonwood Investment? In the story, Hoffman declined to comment, but Mayor Jones said the company was up front with him about their plans to purchase the site and “… they bought it to keep Seaboard out.” Hogwash!
Cottonwood Investment Group, LLC, was formed March 3, 2002, in Delaware as a Delaware limited liability company by none other than Rick Hoffman. He was listed as resident agent at 8335 Maple Wood Drive, Lenexa, Kan. So in effect, Hoffman bought the old Seaboard site from himself. No wonder he wouldn’t comment.
How Rick Hoffman got the land is even more curious. As the CEO of Seaboard, he bought the Elwood site for a hog slaughterhouse in the summer of 2000 when St. Joseph informed him that Seaboard wasn’t welcome here. Seaboard later abandoned the project and shortly thereafter Hoffman left the company.
Court records show that on June 13, 2002, Joel Euler, who was city attorney for Elwood in the Seaboard transactions and a strong proponent of Seaboard, formed a Kansas corporation called Richard Developers Inc. Four days later Seaboard executed a special warranty deed conveying its former plant site to Euler’s corporation. On May 7, 2003, a special warranty deed to the land was assigned to Cottonwood Investment from Richard Developers and finally, Cottonwood Investment conveyed the property to Premium Pork on July 23, 2003.
Court records don’t show whether any money ever changed hands with all of this deed shuffling. The big unanswered question is: Why did Hoffman “sell” the land to himself? To keep Seaboard out can’t be right.
Some other things that can’t be right are the size and cost of the Premium Pork plant here versus the one proposed in Albert Lea, Minn. At $130 million and 600,000 square feet, they are the same. Except the one in Albert Lea was going to employ 2,000 people and kill 16,000 hogs a day and the one here is to employ half as many people and kill half as many hogs. Economically that doesn’t make any sense. Can Hoffman explain this huge disparity?
The news release on announcement day said, “Premium Pork, LLC is a newly organized, producer-owned company.” Presentation materials Hoffman is using now say, “It is anticipated that all the owners at inception will be hog producers …” Tilt! “Anticipated” leaves a lot of wiggle room for Hoffman to do whatever he wants. And 10 minutes after “inception” who knows who might own the company? Maybe Seaboard?
In the city’s TIF agreement Hoffman lists the address of Premium Pork as 8207 Melrose Drive, Suite 160, Lenexa, Kan. I checked it out. The sign on the door says Cottonwood Investments. Tilt again! Premium Pork not only doesn’t have an office, it doesn’t even have a telephone. Call information. They have no phone listed for Premium Pork at that address or anywhere in the area code.
The mayor and City Council are very excited about the prospect of 1,000 good-paying jobs coming to St. Joseph. And rightly so. However, as of now, Premium Pork has no office, no phone and no known organization. Is Hoffman a one-man band running this $130 million company out of the trunk of his car?
It would seem the Oct. 9 deadline for a TIF agreement is less important than finding out right now if Premium Pork is actually a viable company with adequate financing. Or is it the scheme of a slick promoter who wants to get the city committed to major infrastructure improvements and tax incentives and then peddle the whole thing to a big low-wage pork processor? Maybe Seaboard?
Casey Meyers
St. Joseph
Posted by Hanna on Sep. 03 2003,9:38 am
One of those things that make ya go hmmmmmmmm
Posted by Bubba on Sep. 03 2003,10:22 am
Thanks Maddog. I've tried to keep up on this, but had not seen this article.
Posted by hoosier on Sep. 03 2003,10:30 am
Sounds like our city officials have some explaining to do themselves. After all, if we would have been picked over St. Joseph, those same questions would have been unanswered. Looks like a lot of the socalled cynical people in town have been proven right, at least to the extent that there were a lot of questions about this company that no one was willing to answer.
Posted by Madd Max on Sep. 03 2003,11:37 am
Sounds Like a typical cutthrout Packer to me. They don't care about how many people they take to the cleaners so they can make a buck. If you ask me, if Hoffman or Seaboard have anything to do with it, they will be nothing but low wage jobs. Didn't anybody ever notice that when the city said that they would have to pay $10.35 starting, out we really never heard anything from Hoffman again. 
Posted by rosebudinal on Sep. 03 2003,3:25 pm
Wow!!! And the funny thing is that there will still be people complaining that we should have gotten Premium Pork in Albert Lea. Go figure.
Posted by shaker on Sep. 03 2003,3:46 pm
There were a good many of us that said from the very beginning that this pig wouldn't fly.there were enough red flags that ever a blind person could have seen them, could never figure it out why Sparks was falling for this line of crap from Hoffman, He should remember the saying"screw me once, shame on you, screw me twice, shame on me"!!!!
Posted by MADDOG on Sep. 03 2003,3:56 pm
Shaker, you can probably remember the billboard the Chamber put up: 35,000 FRIENDLY PEOPLE WELCOME SEABOARD CORP.
Posted by minnow on Sep. 03 2003,5:47 pm
Well, I must say...I told you so.Who told you all it was all the same company? Hoffman is point man for the Boston family that owns everything. Seaboard, Premium pork....the others....it's ALL THE SAME PEOPLE!
Hoffmans a first class shiester...a swindler....a very, very smart man.
Who was it again who said the Time article had no relevance?
And remember Sparks helping Hoffman lie?
Who's da man now dog?
Posted by shaker on Sep. 04 2003,4:41 pm
Maddog- I sure do remember that billboard- I wish you wouldn't have brought it up--every time I think about it I want to PUKE,.: 
Posted by cwolff on Sep. 04 2003,9:46 pm
If you think your lakes are polluted now, the hog slaughtering plant would of greatly added to the problem. The hog slaughtering plant in Worthington discharges enough phosphorus per day to produce over 180,000 pounds of algae per day. That is over 90 tons of algae per day. The plant currently discharges phosphorus at a rate of about 30 parts per million. Not only do these types of plants bring in low paying jobs, but they will expedite pollution within your watershed, and I bet your city would of given them a tax break besides. Then when the slaughtering plant abruptly leaves town for the next tax incentive, guess who has to clean up the polluted mess left behind?
Posted by minnow on Sep. 04 2003,9:56 pm
Have you been talking to Rick Hoffman? LOL
Posted by cwolff on Sep. 04 2003,9:57 pm
who is Rick Hoffman?
Posted by MADDOG on Sep. 05 2003,8:19 am
cwulff, Hoffman was once the CEO for Seaboard when they were here and is now head of Premium Pork. Check beginning of thread for more.
Posted by MADDOG on Sep. 10 2003,9:05 am
Today's St Joe's news press:Wednesday, September 10, 2003
Pork firm's CEO details background
By SUSAN MIRES
susanm@npgco.com
Premium Pork is not his first start-up venture, Rick Hoffman told the Young Executives Network on Tuesday morning.
Mr. Hoffman, chief executive officer of Premium Pork, said when he joined Seaboard Corp. in 1983, it had no domestic operations. He helped launch its shipping and poultry business and in 1990 started Seaboard’s pork operation.
“We put together one of the largest pork systems in the industry,” Mr. Hoffman said.
Now, he hopes to replicate that success with Premium Pork, which announced plans in July to build a $130 million processing plant and corporate headquarters in St. Joseph’s stockyards area. Meeting with the Young Executives Network at the St. Joseph Area Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Hoffman gave an update on the company’s activities and also shared some of the challenges in starting a new company.
After leaving Seaboard Farms in 2001, Mr. Hoffman served as president of American Dairy Brands, which produces Borden Dairy products. He said he was approached by a group of about 40 hog producers with the prospect of starting a new processing business.
“I don’t know why, but I told them I’d do it for them,” Mr. Hoffman said.
The group didn’t start out with the idea of building a plant in St. Joseph, he said, but hoped to buy the pork assets from bankrupt Farmland Foods.
“About six months ago, we decided the assets we were looking at were overvalued,” he said. “As a result, we decided to look somewhere else.”
Premium Pork scoped out sites in Albert Lea, Minn., and Omaha, Neb. But St. Joseph’s infrastructure, work force and general atmosphere made the company decide to locate here.
“St. Joseph offered a lot of quality-of-life issues we think are important to a top-quality company,” Mr. Hoffman said.
Transportation also was critical. The hogs will be trucked in from farms in Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska and the finished pork shipped out to points south and along both coasts.
Premium Pork’s goal is not to produce a well-known grocery brand, Mr. Hoffman said.
“The branded food product is a thing of the past because of Wal-Mart and what Wal-Mart has done to the retail food business,” he said. “You need to be lean and mean to make money today.”
The company will turn out a broad range of pork products, such as fully cooked slabs of ribs and meat ready for the grill, Mr. Hoffman told the group. One-quarter of Premium Pork’s products will be shipped overseas, primarily to Japan, and Japanese inspectors will be at the plant in St. Joseph.
Only about 100 workers of the company’s expected total work force of 1,000 will be involved in slaughtering hogs. The rest will work on finishing products, Mr. Hoffman said.
He also gave an update on construction. Premium Pork recently purchased the Deffenbaugh site for $1.5 million. It has options or contracts on all other property, with the deals to close after the tax-increment-financing district is finalized. The public hearing on the district will be Sept. 18.
Demolition of the old Monfort plant and the Deffenbaugh buildings will begin this fall and take three to five months.
“We’re trying to position ourselves so when we get into the March or April time frame we can start construction,” Mr. Hoffman said.
The plant will come on line in the summer of 2005 with an initial work force of 375, then grow within two years to employ 1,000.
Mr. Hoffman also shared that the project is financed at $160 million and said U.S. Bank is one of its financial institutions.
“I think the project is going to have a very big impact,” Mr. Hoffman said. “I don’t think you can put this size of project in any community and not have a big impact.”
Posted by hoosier on Sep. 10 2003,9:56 am
O yes, that industry sure had a big impact on AL.
Posted by Ole1kanobe on Sep. 10 2003,10:06 am
You can't set of a nuclear device without having a big impact either, but would you really want it done in oyur town?
Posted by Bubba on Sep. 17 2003,5:49 pm
Found this in the News-Press, St. Joseph, MO Wednesday, September 17, 2003
Premium Pork owners reveal details of financing
By SUSAN MIRES
susanm@npgco.com
The owners of Premium Pork say the $130 million processing plant they plan to build in St. Joseph is actually a small investment.
The secretive owners made their first visible appearance in St. Joseph Tuesday. They represent some of the largest hog production businesses in the United States with combined fixed assets of $750 million.
“There is such a significant investment in the production of pigs already, the plant is a small investment,” said Bob Christensen, chairman of Premium Pork’s board of directors.
He operates Christensen Farms of Sleepy Eye, Minn., which owns 94,000 sows and has 600 employees.
Premium Pork’s owners, all of whom are hog producers, have put up $60 million of their own money for the project. The remainder of the project is financed by lending institutions.
The eight directors, plus Chief Executive Officer Rick Hoffman, met with business and government officials at an invitation-only reception Tuesday evening. Prior to the meeting, they met with the News-Press editorial board.
The group said they decided to build their own processing plant because it has become more and more difficult to turn a profit raising pigs. However, the owners believe their expertise will give them an advantage competing against meat-packing giants such as Tyson and Smithfield Foods that operate their own hog farms.
“All we focus on is raising pigs and raising pigs darn well,” Mr. Christensen said.
Premium Pork plans to compete head to head on a price level with other pork companies by selling to grocery chains. About a quarter of the meat will be exported to Japan.
“We’re looking at low-cost, efficient production and efficient processing,” said Baxter Gutknecht with Hanor Co., based in Spring Green, Wis., with hog operations in several states.
The directors said their tight-lipped approach to the project so far is an indication of how Premium Pork will operate.
“That tells you it will be owned by a group of farmers, but it will be run like a business and professionally operated,” Mr. Christensen said.
The hog-slaughtering plant will be built in the stockyards area and eventually employ about 1,000 people. The company plans to close on all property by the end of October, Mr. Hoffman said, and begin construction in the spring.
The Tax Increment Financing Commission will hold a public hearing at 5 p.m. Thursday to discuss economic incentives for the company.
Premium Pork’s owners also made another attempt to eliminate suspicion that the group may be linked to Seaboard Farms or may make a deal in the future.
“It’s not for sale. No other packer has any money in the plant,” said Myrl Mortenson, who is also with Hanor Co.
It’s not surprising that Premium Pork would appear similar to Seaboard or Premium Standard Farms of Princeton, Mo., because those companies are industry leaders they would like to imitate, Mr. Christensen said.
Together, the owners of Premium Pork own about 5 percent of the hogs in the United States. The farms all will maintain separate operations, but genetics and nutrition will be coordinated to produce a uniform pork product, Mr. Mortenson said.
One of the members of Premium Pork is Allied Producers Co-op, a cooperative of smaller and medium-sized farms in Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri. Members of the co-op have committed 435,000 hogs to the new company.
The co-op had been looking to invest in a processing plant for some time, said Gerald Schmidt of Jansen, Neb., who represents the group on the Premium Pork board of directors.
“This is the first project that after 31/2 years made financial sense,” Mr. Schmidt said.
Posted by Bubba on Sep. 17 2003,9:09 pm
Maddog, sorry I didn't see that you had already posted the article. I was so excited when I found this in my e-mails that I didn't go back and check if anyone had already posted it.
Posted by MADDOG on Sep. 18 2003,8:31 am
Bubba, mine was a Sept 10th article. Hadn't checked out the news_press for a few days. GOOD JOB!
Posted by cwolff on Sep. 19 2003,7:00 pm
This slaughtering plant will provide 375 to 1000 jobs in St. Joseph, but the wages will not support a family. The plant may use up to 1.75 million gallons of fresh water per day pumped out of the aquifer and then discharged into the watershed with 30 parts per million of phosphorus, which could produce upto 180,000 pounds of algae per day. These numbers are what happens at the slaughtering plant in Worthington each and every day. Cities around the state and country must love what these slaughtering plants bring, because cities also give these companies tax incentives to bring their self serving destructive BS to town.
Posted by minnow on Sep. 19 2003,8:25 pm
Sparks knowingly helped Hoffman and company lie and spread misinformation.
Did I mention that Sparks is a dinosaur that needs to be put out to pasture?
Posted by MADDOG on Sep. 20 2003,1:18 pm
letter taken from St. Joes News Press 9-20-03:Time will tell
We read that $26 million of taxpayers’ money from city, state, county and federal government is being invested in a private hog venture that may or may not be successful. Only time will tell.
This is about 20 percent of the total possible investment of $128 million. Those who are our partners in Premium Pork, the investors who are putting up $102 million cash, should be known and their credentials checked.
If this is such a good deal, why shouldn’t the city have 20 percent of the company’s stock? Cities across the land have been taken by sharp talkers who promise heaven and then it turns out to be hell. Politicians, you may be gambling with the taxpayers’ money. Beware.
Posted by cwolff on Sep. 20 2003,2:38 pm
Maddog, we are basically on the same page on this issue, but if you could name one success that could possibly come from a hog slaughtering plant, what would it be?
Posted by minnow on Sep. 20 2003,2:52 pm
Well, hermmmm...let me think. 1. It would make Rick Hoffman and his private Boston Family (his employer) a very large profit.
2. It would provide poor white unskilled white folk and illegal immigrants with low paying, hard working jobs.
That's all I can think of.
Posted by MADDOG on Sep. 20 2003,3:17 pm
cwulff, I'd like to think it would be a better and more consistant price on hogs for area farmers, but that would only be a hopeful.Therefore, I would say....AROMATHERAPY
Seriously, it is hard to pick a positive or success on a pork processing plant, this town has been burned so many times. Low paying wages, polluted lakes, ground water,soil, illegals, increased crime, higher government services, high job turnover which creates more welfare, poverty, you name it. Any one out there wish to name the one success (other than increasing the wealth of the company) step right up. H#11, with P-9 ready to strike again over in Austin, they're not going to have anything positive.
Come to think of it, when an area hog plant does go on strike around here, it increases pay for the Nat'l. Guard!
Posted by MADDOG on Sep. 22 2003,9:33 am
Today's St. Joes Press:The huge pig roast
Mark Saturday, Nov. 8, on your calendar and keep your evening open.
On that day, Mayor David Jones will celebrate a “Mayoral Pig Roast” to honor Premium Pork’s decision to locate in St. Joseph. And, even more, the event will mark the beginning of the complete renovation of the stockyards area.
LOL
Posted by Liberal on Sep. 22 2003,11:11 am
I wonder if Mayor Jones will be wearing his strap-on pig nose?
Posted by jimhanson on Sep. 22 2003,11:16 am
I wonder if Hoffman will be wearing his strap-on you-know-what! 
Posted by Ole1kanobe on Sep. 23 2003,12:52 am
So does that mean the Mayor is a pig and they are going to give him a good roatsting?
Posted by shaker on Sep. 23 2003,10:20 pm
Bend over guys,,,,here comes Hoffman
Posted by The Advocate on Sep. 29 2003,10:27 pm
I don't care what anyone says, I think THE MAIN REASON for the Ford Distribution Center to pick Menomonie Wisc. over Albert Lea Mn was the ACT scores! Remember, the execs wanted to have records of our ACT scores. Not a good thing for Albert Lea. Stand back and look at the big picture....THAT is the problem.
Posted by GEOKARJO on Sep. 29 2003,10:34 pm
The Advocate please explain act scores for those that do not know
Posted by Think it Through on Sep. 30 2003,8:18 am
I believe The Advocate is referring to the ACT scores that are college entrance exams. It is a reference to the difference in the school systems I believe. It just shows that it is not necessarily the package that the City offers or who offers it, rather the amenities of the community: school system, entrainment venues, shopping opportunities, recreation, etc.
Posted by hoosier on Sep. 30 2003,9:19 am
Geo, give me a break, is there anyone here that doesnt know what the ACT is? Maybe you?
Posted by cpu_slave on Sep. 30 2003,12:09 pm
Albert Lea was used as a tool by Hoffman to get a better deal in St. Joe. I can not believe that we PAID Hoffman to consider Albert Lea, knowing what was really going on. If it looks like a pig, smells like a pig...... Advocate, you really must not have a clue if you think the reason Ford chose Menomonee was ACT scores! Other than taxes, I would have to say it was the salesmanship (or lack thereof) from our local leaders. This was not the first company Albert Lea lost to Menomonee, and unless things change it will not be the last.
These are tough economic times right now, making attracting any business here even that much harder. I say it is time to change the salesmen (or salespersons for those of you too PC to think straight!) and be ready for when the recovery begins. My guess would be as soon as the shrub loses the election things will be getting better. Let's get ready now and not later!
Posted by hoosier on Sep. 30 2003,5:19 pm
Amen Slave!
Posted by MADDOG on Nov. 21 2003,4:31 pm
In today's St. Joe News Press, Premium Pork received a special state approval for decreased waster rates that helps clear the way for construction of it's $130M plant.??? This was a major step before going ahead with contruction.| Quote |
| The Premium Pork plant would use about 3.5 million gallons of water a day. City officials feared that the plant would go to Albert Lea, Minn., a city with cheaper water rates, without some kind of discount in St. Joseph. |
| Quote |
| Mr. Jones said the rates would put Premium Pork’s water costs in line with those in Albert Lea. He said the ability to lower rates for certain companies will allow the city to compete for future economic-development projects. |
It sounds like this wasn't a done deal yet!
| Quote |
| Mr. Hoffman said he expects to begin proceeding today on providing a notice of intent to close on the purchase of property for the processing plant and corporate headquarters. |
Whew!!!! < full story >
Posted by cpu_slave on Nov. 25 2003,11:41 am
| Quote (cpu_slave @ Sep. 30 2003,11:09:am) |
| Albert Lea was used as a tool by Hoffman to get a better deal in St. Joe. |
Simply stated already, and it looks like it is just becoming more evident as time goes on. Too bad nobody in a position to make a difference could have seen this when it could have mattered...
Posted by GEOKARJO on Nov. 25 2003,12:06 pm
Sorry hoosier when I was in school it was C.L.E.P. and S.A.T.
Posted by MADDOG on Dec. 08 2003,7:03 pm
Today's St. Joe news press:
| Quote |
| Dear Santa: I just wanted to take a minute to tell you that I found the business card and resume you slipped into my stocking last year. Thank you for your interest in becoming a member of the Premium Pork Processing team. However, our company currently doesn't have any openings for a "gift consultant." Oh, feel free to stop by the house on Christmas Eve. But don't worry about bringing any gifts. Thanks to the generosity of the TIF commission, I've already received everything I've asked for this year. Your friend, Rick Hoffman president, Premium Pork |
Posted by guest on Dec. 09 2003,7:53 am
We don't care. It is not comming here, most of us did not want it, you did not want it, so why keep bringing it up. We are glad it is gone and over with. You really should spend more time chasing your tail instead of dwelling on these past things.
Posted by MADDOG on Jan. 09 2004,3:51 pm
guest, I know this is old stuff and I should move on, but I found this interesting. Premium pork changed it's name to Triumph Foods LLC 12/17/03, could this be that a dummy corporation was set up all along? < triumph foods >
Posted by Madd Max on Jan. 09 2004,5:07 pm
| Quote (MADDOG @ Jan. 09 2004,3:51:pm) |
| Premium pork changed it's name to Triumph Foods LLC 12/17/03, could this be that a dummy corporation was set up all along? |
Oh what a tangled web those packers like to weave!!!!!
Posted by MADDOG on Feb. 13 2004,2:04 pm
Max, the shell game is starting to come full circle. Earlier this month, Triumph Foods announced that, guess who will be marketing ALL the pork produced at the new plant, you got it, SEABOARD < FULL STORY >
Posted by farouk on Feb. 13 2004,3:25 pm
Un "fricken" beleivable! They figured out a way to get the hog producers to build the plant for them with the help of the City of St. Joseph, who would do business with them directly. Now they have captured all of the production from the plant, which is all they wanted in the first place. I knew they were slick when they were in town, but they have gotten much better!
Posted by minnow on Feb. 13 2004,4:58 pm
How many times do I get to say I told you so?Remember Sparky telling us they were different companies...he certified it. Sparky was lying. Liars should be fired.
Posted by Madd Max on Feb. 13 2004,10:47 pm
Sounds like the way Seaboard does business I will give you all four words of advice
NEVER TRUST A PACKER! [/size]
Be glad there not back here.
Posted by MrTarzan on Feb. 14 2004,12:46 am
Why are all these eastcoast gangstas still running a midwestern town
Posted by Nose for News on Feb. 14 2004,10:53 am
Ex-Seaboard executive involved in Premium PorkBy Peter Cox, Tribune staff writer April 2003
...Albert Lea City Manager Paul Sparks said he isn't worried about Hoffman's history with Seaboard or the similarities between the offer Seaboard had made and the one being made by Premium Pork.
"He hasn't been with that company for years," Sparks said about Hoffman.
About the similarities between the offers, Sparks said: "This is a different deal than they were offering Elwood and St. Joseph. The numbers are similar, but Seaboard tended to raise a lot of their own hogs."
Sparks said that Premium Pork would buy theirs from farms in Minnesota and Iowa. That, combined with the corporate headquarters aspect, makes him think differently about the company than he might others.
"If certain operations were to talk with us I'd be a whole lot more concerned about it, but with a cooperative like this one, it's different," he said.
Sparks said that with a corporate headquarters in the city, the company would care about local problems.
"They will be living here, not in an office in some other city," he said.
Posted by BS Fighter on Feb. 14 2004,5:42 pm
THAT's BS that Paul Sparks can certify that there is no association with the Seaboard Farms east coast mobsters and Premium Pork and still stay out of our new jail Isn't he from Jersey or somewhere else where these Soprano packer men come from? 
Thank you
Posted by Madd Max on Feb. 14 2004,11:11 pm
I believe the owner of Seaboard live in Boston Mass.
Posted by MrTarzan on Feb. 15 2004,2:30 pm
Still an eastcoast mobster though, according to the U.S. Justice Dept. He probably just has better table manners being from Beantown Better to be ripped off by a polite mobster, like we did Still a good point, if that company had come here, would'nt we be getting stung twice by the same people under the same local leadership? Why does that not scare people into wondering what has really been going on? Lateral movement is not going to solve anything. If anything, we are going to be more vulneralbe to some shady dealings now.
Posted by minnow on Feb. 15 2004,5:15 pm
Paul Sparks is the Antichrist.
Posted by MADDOG on Feb. 27 2004,5:36 pm
It looks like St. Joseph has a few sleuths of their own as one letter to the editor dated Feb. 14 states. | Quote |
| Seaboard’s triumph On Wednesday, Feb. 4, it was announced that Seaboard Farms will be marketing all pork produced at the Triumph Foods plant in St. Joseph. One of the owners, Bob Christensen, stated, “This doesn’t change anything in any substantial way.” The 8-K Current Report filed by Seaboard Corporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America on February 3, 2004, tells a different story. According to that filing, which is required by government regulation to be truthful and accurate, the following will occur: 1) Seaboard will have substantial involvement in the “engineering, design, construction and development” of the Triumph Foods plant; 2) Triumph Foods employees will be trained at Seaboard’s Guymon, Oklahoma plant; 3) All Triumph food products will be sold, branded and labeled as Seaboard products; 4) Seaboard will have “real time, online access” to every record, report, data, or other information regarding either the Triumph plant or the Guymon plant; 5) Seaboard will put in place a highly sophisticated proprietary software system at Triumph Foods belonging to it; 6) The Triumph Food plant will be operated according to the scheduling directives of Seaboard; 7) Seaboard will actually transport anything produced at the Triumph Foods plant to Seaboard customers; 8) Seaboard initially will send actual Seaboard employees to the Triumph Foods plant to work there; 9) Seaboard will be given actual space in the Triumph Foods plan for its employees and managers; 10) Despite earlier statements, the Triumph plant will slaughter 15,000 hogs per day. This will require two shifts slaughtering 1,000 hogs per hour, a plant size much larger than initially announced, amounting to over five million hogs per year. The end result is that, although separate legal entities will be maintained, the plant in St. Joseph will otherwise be built according to Seaboard’s specifications, staffed with employees trained by Seaboard, run with Seaboard’s software, and will produce Seaboard products. Three years ago, hundreds of St. Joseph citizens drove Seaboard from this city because of its appalling track record in other communities. The result now is that the City of St. Joseph has paid over $9 million to bring to St. Joseph what is, in essence, a Seaboard plant. The likely result, given Seaboard’s track records in other communities, will be decreased economic opportunities for other businesses, environmental degradation, pressure on St. Joseph’s limited infrastructure, exploitation of undereducated migrant workers, and incredible pressures on the St. Joseph school systems and social-support systems. It is a deceptive and shameful outcome. Creath S. Thorne St. Joseph |
| Quote |
| Slick Seaboard maneuver Well, well, our friend Casey Myers has been right in his thinking about the Triumph Foods pork plant and Seaboard. He’s said all along it was just a front for Seaboard. I have always felt that way, too. The company already has changed its name once, and I think we will see more come to light before it’s all over. It was a slick way for Seaboard to get into St. Joseph, which public officials could not see. |
| Quote |
| The shell game If it weren’t so embarrassing, it would be hilarious. But what the heck, the joke’s on us, so it’s hilarious anyway. If we can’t laugh at ourselves, whom can we laugh at? The headline story in the Feb. 10 issue of St. Joseph News Press, “Seaboard’s role far from minimal,” very effectively points out that Rick Hoffman and his investor group have indeed very efficiently duped both David Jones, mayor of St. Joseph, and Pat Lilly, president and CEO of the St. Joseph Area Chamber of Commerce, as well as the citizens of St. Joseph. Reportedly, both Mr. Jones and others were totally convinced that Seaboard Farms’ pork operations were lower than the lowest scum and that this city wanted no part of this company. They were able to convince enough of our citizens of that fact that we kept Seaboard from building a pork-processing plant in St. Joseph. For some reason, Seaboard had made a decision that St. Joseph was where it needed to be. So, some of its investors simply formed a different company with the same fellow, Rick Hoffman, to head a new group to be known as Triumph Foods. Mr. Hoffman then proceeded to sell the idea that a pork-producing facility was exactly what St. Joseph needed. Mr. Hoffman not only sold the idea of locating a pork processing facility in our fair city, but persuaded Mr. Jones and Mr. Lilly to vigorously sell that idea to our citizens and to sell us on the fact that we should help finance the venture. Pretty smart fellow that Mr. Hoffman, don’t you think? Why didn’t Seaboard build in Elwood, Kan., on land they purchased? The answer may be that Elwood, a smaller and less prosperous community simply could not offer the financial support needed to start a new operation of this magnitude. Or remote as it may be, possibly the risk of another flood like the one in 1993 is simply too great. We will likely never know the answer to that question. Triumph/Seaboard offer much-needed jobs. And, the net loss of jobs in our community in the last few years is deplorable. I contend, once Mr. Hoffman has Triumph Foods up and running, our citizens should support him to become our mayor and/or our president and CEO of the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce. We need agile dynamic leaders who know how to get things done and lead our city to growth and prosperity. Don H. Roach St. Joseph |
Posted by minnow on Feb. 27 2004,8:21 pm
Remember Sparky telling us how they were different than Seaboard? That AFTER he already ADMITTED that Hoffman had duped him in the past.Sparky needs to go now!
Posted by farouk on Mar. 01 2004,2:23 pm
What does that say for the locals that represented Hoffman to Sparks and the city?
Posted by MrTarzan on Mar. 01 2004,5:52 pm
Well farouk, it could mean that they were unwitting dupes picked because they were oblivious, or they were in on another scam that fortunately did not make it to fruition. At least we dodged the bullet for once. ;)
Posted by MADDOG on Mar. 01 2004,7:26 pm
Here's part of an article from Feb. 10, 2004 in the St. Joe's paper. | Quote |
| Paul Sparks, the city manager in Albert Lea, Minn., said he always suspected there could be some sort of involvement between Seaboard and what is now known as Triumph. Albert Lea is one of the cities that competed against St. Joseph in an attempt to attract Triumph Foods. Mr. Sparks said he was surprised to learn some of the details of the Triumph/Seaboard affiliation. “We had concerns there might be an affiliation,” he said. “I don’t think we would have made a proposal if we had known it was going to be that close of a relationship.” Mr. Sparks said Albert Lea tried to insist on a provision to give the city veto power if Triumph attempted to sell its business to Seaboard, a company that had closed a facility in Albert Lea. He said he’s not surprised to learn that production at the St. Joseph plant could eventually reach 15,000 hogs a day, which was similar to what Albert Lea anticipated. In St. Joseph, officials previously said production would be limited to 8,000 hogs a day. The smaller production level was one of the reasons given for the plant’s projected ability to attract most of its workers from the St. Joseph area. “That part never made sense to us,” said Mr. Sparks, who said added capacity increases efficiency. “All of our planning was for 16,000 a day.” |
Posted by MrTarzan on Mar. 01 2004,8:45 pm
So he always suspected a tie, I thought he was sure that there wasn't one? Now he is in charge of the Port Authority? What are we doing?