The Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany-headquartered Tönnies meat processing group has officially launched a commerical office in Chicago, Illinois.
“We are taking the next step to further expand our international trade relations,” said Frank Duffe, an international member of the Tönnies board of directors. “As a recognized quality leader in pork, our products are in demand worldwide. With our own trading office, we can further develop relations in North America. ”
In a press release issued to coincide with the office opening, Tönnies stated: “Demand in the US and Canada for pork is high. At the same time, producer prices are well below German and European pork prices. As the global meat market becomes increasingly competitive, we are strengthening our internationalization strategy and expanding international trade relations.”
Founded in 1971, the family-owned company is a multi-tier commercial enterprise in the food industry active in many meat markets around the world. Employing approximately 16,500 people and generating sales of €6.65 billion in 2018, it operates 19 production plants in Germany, three each in both Great Britain and Poland, two in Denmark, and one each in France and Spain.
In September of 2019 Tönnies launched a joint venture with the Chengdu, China-headquartered West Hope Group, parent company of the Dekon Group, to construct a state-of-the-art hog slaughtering and butchering center in the Sichuan region of the PRC. Initial capacity will be in the range of two million pigs per annum, with phase two boosting throughput to six million.
Tönnies is split into eight divisions: Meat Pork, Meat Beef, Convenience, Sausages, Ingredients, International, Logistics and Central Services. At the forefront in the Convenience division is the Tillman’s brand of value-added retail products. Its portfolio includes frozen snack items under the Toasty label as well as a wide variety of appetizers.
