Jack Link’s Beef Jerky, Minong, Wis., has agreed to acquire a packaged meat snack products manufacturing facility located in Mankato, Minn., from JBS S.A.


Jack Link’s Beef Jerky, Minong, Wis., has agreed to acquire a packaged meat snack products manufacturing facility located in Mankato, Minn., from JBS S.A. Expected to close by the end of September and subject to customary closing conditions, the move will allow Jack Link’s to boost its fast-growing production capacity of meat snacks, which has blossomed by 4.4% in 2010 year-to-date, the company reports.

“JBS’s Mankato plant is a perfect fit for our business, with an experienced work force and management team,” says Jack Link, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Jack Link’s Beef Jerky. “The addition of this plant gives us the opportunity to expand on our existing manufacturing operations and enhance our ability to meet our customers’ needs.”

Jack Link’s plans to retain current management and employees at the Minnesota plant, which employs 85 people and currently manufactures packaged meat snack products under thePioneersnack brand and other private labels.

The company also has entered into a joint venture with JBS, S.A. to operate two manufacturing facilities in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The joint venture will help Jack Link’s ensure an adequate supply of product to meet growing demand and provide it with more flexibility in its supply chain. With the acquisition and joint venture announcements, Jack Link’s Beef Jerky will increase from nine to 12 manufacturing facilities worldwide. 

The joint venture is highly complementary, Link says.

“It allows us to better leverage our strength in manufacturing and marketing meat snacks and JBS’s strength in beef production to benefit the marketplace,” he says.

“With our competitive production skills and with Jack Link’s meat snack expertise and brand strength, this [joint venture] will enhance business for both of us and grow the market for this healthy product,” says Wesley Batista, president and CEO of JBS USA.