Smithfield Foods, Inc.
A meat producer that bills itself as one of the world's largest pork processors and hog producers, raising hogs on its own farms and turning them into fresh pork plus familiar packaged brands like Eckrich sausages, Farmland bacon, and Nathan's Famous hot dogs sold in grocery stores and restaurants. It began in 1936 as the Smithfield Packing Company in Smithfield, Virginia, taking its name from that town, which was already known for its hand-cured hams. The founders, Joseph Luter Sr. and his son Joseph Jr., built it from a small local packing house into a global player through a long series of acquisitions.