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Attack of the Spam Spam. What other quivering, gelatinous mass of processed pork shoulder has so captured the public imagination? What other 8-ounce lump of canned meat has sustained decades of schoolchildren while becoming a staple of jails and armies everywhere? For aroma, convenience, and sheer tastiness, there is no processed-food comparison to Spam. Except maybe Dinty Moore beef stews. They're pretty good too. Hog heaven Hormel, the Austin, MN-based food company, happily makes both products. Founded in 1900 as a pork slaughterhouse, Hormel introduced its first processed food product in 1903 and sold its first canned ham in 1926. In 1936, Hormel introduced its Dinty Moore stew, but first rolled out its most famous product, Spam, a year later. During World War II, Hormel produced so much Spam for Allied armies that it could boast of having sold one billion cans of Spam by 1959. Not content to produce just Spam, however, Hormel diversified, producing more than 750 products by the mid-1970s. Today, the company sells over 100 million cans of Spam per year in America alone. The Republic of South Korea is the largest market for Spam overseas, with the United Kingdom a close second. Ethnic studies In 1985, Hormel suffered a violent, nationally publicized strike that resulted in the loss of two-thirds of Hormel?s 1500-person workforce. The third that returned had to accept pay cuts. To stimulate product growth, Hormel has begun expanding into ethnic foods. Partnering with Grupo Herdez SA, Hormel began selling Herdez sauces and other Mexican foods in the U.S. With Patak Spices, a British company, Hormel created Patak's Food U.S.A., an Indian food line. In addition, Hormel has sought to recuperate from losses in Spam sales during this health-conscious era by introducing low sodium and fat version of their existing products, such as "Spam Light." And in 2000 the company teamed up with French manufacturer Eridania Beghin-Say to introduce the Carapelli line of olive oils (#1 in Italy) in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Angels and friends In 1998, Pure Foods Corp., which is owned by Ayala, agreed to work with Hormel Foods in the creation a new company. The spin-off, which will be called Purefoods-HFC Co., will come from the processed meats division of Purefoods. In other news, Hormel decided to launch a television campaign for its pork products. Hormel's "Always Tender" brand campaign declares, "Pork so tender, you can cut it with a fork." The ad campaign will air during the commercial time of Touched by an Angel, Friends, and the annual Country Music Awards. Internationally, Beijing Hormel Foods Co. Ltd., a Sino-U.S. joint venture, officially started operations in 1998. The food operation will be the first Hormel-operated meat processing company in China. Spam fan club Holy ham hocks! For the truly devoted, Hormel has recently rolled out an online fan club for Spam (Where else but www.spam.com). For a mere $15, members can have all of their meaty desires fulfilled. The fee includes plastic membership card, official membership certificate, spellbinding Spam T-shirt, and a subscription to the quarterly newsletter, "A Slice of Spam." Quick, go fetch that credit card! Haute cuisine, Spam-style Don't look now, but Best Spam Recipe Competitions have been springing up at county fairs around the country. One such contest winner concocted a Spam-scargot appetizer, seasoning his Spam with shallots, bread crumbs, garlic and butter, and stuffing it into puff pastry and escargot shells. Other past contestants have included Chinese chicken salad with Spam, Spam-zucchini bread, corn chowder soup with Spam, and the ever-popular Spam-anana split. But wait, there's more! Fan clubs and recipe competitions are one thing, but immortality is quite another. Yet Hormel hopes Spam can achieve just that with the opening of a 16,550-square-foot Spam and Hormel Foods Museum and Visitors' Center. Spam aficionados will be able to trace the history of Spam and buy Spam memorabilia ranging from hats to golf balls. And just in case the museum visitor falls victim to a Spam craving, Hormel is planning an adjacent restaurant serving (what else?) Spamburgers.
Hormel functions over a wide area and so a "willingness to relocate is essential to a long-term and rewarding career." In the field, Hormel needs smooth-talkers with the ability to take charge, so they want people who have a "pattern of success in situations that challenged their leadership and persuasiveness." In sales, 90 percent of new hires are recruited straight from college campuses. The most sought after educational backgrounds are those in business, marketing, and economics. Applicants interested in work at Hormel should send an application to the company's corporate headquarters. The company has offices throughout the United States and manufacturing facilities mainly in the Midwest, so recent hires may need to relocate. Hormel generally promotes from within.
Money and mature brands Employees feel that "overall Hormel is a great place to work" as it is a "large company that feels like a small one." As a company whose products are "category leaders," Hormel brands are already "somewhat mature," but their positions at the top are "supported by solid marketing initiatives." And Hormel is ready to reward, with perks "far better than most companies" and a "very competitive salary." The whites For production workers and engineers, Hormel can sometimes be "stressful." Such pressure, however, are "typical in the meat industry territory." Dress is usually "business casual," though most factory workers and supervisors wear "the whites," the standard uniform of the meat-dressing industry. Starting in sales In the corporate office, "opportunity for growth is excellent for those willing to make the commitment." Like many other companies, at Hormel "there are clear and direct levels of management and a fairly flat hierarchy." In marketing, employees "generally all start in the sales force." One fine perk is that "every sales person with the company receives a company car." Some hired in sales "have as little as three years experience" but others more, depending on the brand they work in. "From entry level to CEO there are roughly seven levels of management," though there are many levels within levels. Promotions "generally involve relocation," so flexibility, akin to a pliable slice of Spam, will be rewarded. On the "typical path," a new hire will "start in a training territory" dealing with smaller customers and other retail representatives. Then "after roughly a year, you will be promoted into your first territory and then all promotions are up to you." Counting hours While in the past insiders characterized Hormel as "very conservative" with "attire and attitude" reflective of that, times have changed. From Memorial Day to Labor Day the dress code is business casual followed by long winters of suits and casual Fridays. "Hours are not really set," average days last from "8 to 5, but late nights, early mornings and weekends are not uncommon." In the corporate sector, employees generally work from 7 to 4 in order to rise with the early birds of the east. The experienced advise, "The harder you work, the more opportunities," and that "the more hours you work, the better you'll do."
Eric W. Muller Human Resources One Hormel Place1 Austin MN 55912 (507) 437-5171
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