December 2, 2016 at 9:52 p.m.
Tyson leadership sees changes
Business Roundup
Thanksgiving week brought some turmoil at the top of Tyson Foods Inc., parent company of Tyson Mexican Original of Portland.
After the company forecast lower than expected profits for 2017 and announced that chief executive officer Donnie Smith will depart the company at the end of this month, Tyson stock prices took a serious hit.
"We are not at all happy to see Mr. Smith step down," Pivotal Research Group analyst Timothy Ramey was quoted by Reuters. Tyson’s stock price has more than quadrupled since Smith became CEO seven years ago.
"It has been the best period of Tyson's history, without doubt," said Ramey.
When Smith, 56, leaves Tyson, he’ll be replaced by Tom Hayes, now company president.
Hayes, 51, had served as chief supply chain officer for Hillshire Brands Co., a company Tyson acquired in 2014.
Reuters reported that Smith will stay on as an adviser for three years.
“The board's decision to name Tom (Hayes) CEO at this time was based on both his track record and how his skills align with the company's strategic direction and continuing evolution," John Tyson, chairman of the board, said in a prepared statement.
“Tyson expects profit of $4.70 to $4.85 a share in the year ending September 2017, below analysts' average estimate of $4.98. It said it would boost capital spending to $1 billion from $700 million in 2016 to increase production and improve worker safety, animal welfare, food safety and its supply chain,” Reuters reported.
Annual meeting
The Jay County Chamber of Commerce annual membership meeting will be held at noon Jan. 26 at Jay Community Center, 115 E. Water St., Portland.
The event will also include the announcement of finalists for the Jay County Community Awards.
The luncheon is free to chamber members, but reservations are required. To make a reservation, contact the chamber at (260) 726-4481 or via http://www.jaycountychamber.com.
Other upcoming chamber events include moonlight shopping on Dec. 8 and a “guy’s night out” for last-minute Christmas shopping on Dec. 22.
Cool technology
Ardagh Group, parent company of glass container plants in Dunkirk and Winchester, is launching a free design service that allows customers to convert two-dimensional artwork into three-dimensional models.
Packaging News reports that the innovation streamlines the process of developing new packaging concepts. The service is free to Ardagh customers.
“The ability to visualise artwork in the form of a 3D model at the very early stage of the packaging development will facilitate discussions with marketing and production colleagues, resulting in a much swifter decision making process,” Packaging News said.
More information is available at http://www.ardaghgroup.com/3Dstudio.
Ethanol boost
The ethanol industry is applauding an Environmental Protection Agency decision to boost the amount of ethanol to be blended with gasoline under federal regulations.
Under the renewable volume obligation in 2017, the EPA will require 19.28 billion gallons of renewable fuel to be blended with gasoline, including 15 billion gallons of corn ethanol.
That’s a 200 million gallon increase from EPA’s position in May.
“The EPA decision is good news for the state’s ethanol plants and farmers,” Lisa Richardson, executive director of the South Dakota Corn Growers Association, said in a press release. “This year the EPA is finally following the statutory limits set by Congress. We know the American farmer can grow what we need to feed and fuel this country.”
“I commend the EPA on holding firm to the letter of the law despite enormous pressure from oil interests. These numbers reflect the intent of Congress in making homegrown, renewable biofuels a sizable portion of our transportation fuel supply,” said Jeff Broin, chief executive officer of POET, parent company of POET Biorefining-Portland, in a prepared statement.
Inventor dies
A McDonald’s franchise who created the original Big Mac has died, The Associated Press reported this week.
Michael “Jim” Delligatti invented the signature two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun sandwich at his Uniontown, Pennsylvania, McDonald’s in 1967.
The AP reported that Delligatti spent weeks developing the special sauce. He tried out the Big Mac in his 48 stores in western Pennsylvania, and the Big Mac went national in 1968.
Surprisingly, Delligatti didn’t get a big raise or a percentage of sales from his invention.
“All I got was a plaque,” he once told a reporter.
Delligatti was 98 at the time of his death.
Expo ahead
The 2017 Spring Business Expo and Home Show is set for April 1 at the Jay Community Center. Corporate sponsorships are now available from the Jay County Chamber of Commerce. Booth rental will be $150 for chamber members and $200 for non-members.
Transition ahead
Samvardhana Motherson Group’s focus will be changing during the next five years, its chairman Vivek Chaand Sehgal told the Nikkei Asian Review in Thailand in a November interview.
Motherson Sumi Systems, parent company of MSSL Wiring Systems of Portland, is the flagship company of the group, which has grown dramatically over the past several years via acquisition.
“At the moment we are almost 99 percent OEM (original equipment manufacturer),” Sehgal said. “The next five years, when it comes around, we will be 70 percent automotive.”
“Over the past decade, Motherson Sumi has grown at a compound annual rate of more than 40 percent, due mostly to a number of mergers and acquisitions. The company has averaged one acquisition every year since 2002, when it decided to buy Wexford Electronics of Ireland. The company is also known for turning around loss-making businesses, as it did with Visiocorp, a British rear-view mirror maker, and Peguform, a German plastics company,” Nikkei Asian Review reported.
Its products include wiring harnesses such as those produced in Jay County, car mirrors, automotive plastic components, trims and bumpers. It also makes goggles for treating sleep disorders.
Sehgal said the company hopes to nearly quadruple its sales by 2020 and become one of the world’s largest automotive component manufacturers while developing new revenue outside of the auto parts business.
"I don't think it will be so much by acquisitions," he told Nikkei Asian Review. "We are looking at some very exciting technologies by Motherson at the moment.”
Weak quarter
Dollar General Corp. reported lower than expected earnings this week, and the company blamed the results on changes in food-stamp programs around the country.
The company reported a third-quarter profit of $235.3 million or 84 cents a share. That’s down from $253.3 million or 86 cents a share for the same period a year ago.
Revenue was up 5 percent to $5.32 billion.
After the company forecast lower than expected profits for 2017 and announced that chief executive officer Donnie Smith will depart the company at the end of this month, Tyson stock prices took a serious hit.
"We are not at all happy to see Mr. Smith step down," Pivotal Research Group analyst Timothy Ramey was quoted by Reuters. Tyson’s stock price has more than quadrupled since Smith became CEO seven years ago.
"It has been the best period of Tyson's history, without doubt," said Ramey.
When Smith, 56, leaves Tyson, he’ll be replaced by Tom Hayes, now company president.
Hayes, 51, had served as chief supply chain officer for Hillshire Brands Co., a company Tyson acquired in 2014.
Reuters reported that Smith will stay on as an adviser for three years.
“The board's decision to name Tom (Hayes) CEO at this time was based on both his track record and how his skills align with the company's strategic direction and continuing evolution," John Tyson, chairman of the board, said in a prepared statement.
“Tyson expects profit of $4.70 to $4.85 a share in the year ending September 2017, below analysts' average estimate of $4.98. It said it would boost capital spending to $1 billion from $700 million in 2016 to increase production and improve worker safety, animal welfare, food safety and its supply chain,” Reuters reported.
Annual meeting
The Jay County Chamber of Commerce annual membership meeting will be held at noon Jan. 26 at Jay Community Center, 115 E. Water St., Portland.
The event will also include the announcement of finalists for the Jay County Community Awards.
The luncheon is free to chamber members, but reservations are required. To make a reservation, contact the chamber at (260) 726-4481 or via http://www.jaycountychamber.com.
Other upcoming chamber events include moonlight shopping on Dec. 8 and a “guy’s night out” for last-minute Christmas shopping on Dec. 22.
Cool technology
Ardagh Group, parent company of glass container plants in Dunkirk and Winchester, is launching a free design service that allows customers to convert two-dimensional artwork into three-dimensional models.
Packaging News reports that the innovation streamlines the process of developing new packaging concepts. The service is free to Ardagh customers.
“The ability to visualise artwork in the form of a 3D model at the very early stage of the packaging development will facilitate discussions with marketing and production colleagues, resulting in a much swifter decision making process,” Packaging News said.
More information is available at http://www.ardaghgroup.com/3Dstudio.
Ethanol boost
The ethanol industry is applauding an Environmental Protection Agency decision to boost the amount of ethanol to be blended with gasoline under federal regulations.
Under the renewable volume obligation in 2017, the EPA will require 19.28 billion gallons of renewable fuel to be blended with gasoline, including 15 billion gallons of corn ethanol.
That’s a 200 million gallon increase from EPA’s position in May.
“The EPA decision is good news for the state’s ethanol plants and farmers,” Lisa Richardson, executive director of the South Dakota Corn Growers Association, said in a press release. “This year the EPA is finally following the statutory limits set by Congress. We know the American farmer can grow what we need to feed and fuel this country.”
“I commend the EPA on holding firm to the letter of the law despite enormous pressure from oil interests. These numbers reflect the intent of Congress in making homegrown, renewable biofuels a sizable portion of our transportation fuel supply,” said Jeff Broin, chief executive officer of POET, parent company of POET Biorefining-Portland, in a prepared statement.
Inventor dies
A McDonald’s franchise who created the original Big Mac has died, The Associated Press reported this week.
Michael “Jim” Delligatti invented the signature two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun sandwich at his Uniontown, Pennsylvania, McDonald’s in 1967.
The AP reported that Delligatti spent weeks developing the special sauce. He tried out the Big Mac in his 48 stores in western Pennsylvania, and the Big Mac went national in 1968.
Surprisingly, Delligatti didn’t get a big raise or a percentage of sales from his invention.
“All I got was a plaque,” he once told a reporter.
Delligatti was 98 at the time of his death.
Expo ahead
The 2017 Spring Business Expo and Home Show is set for April 1 at the Jay Community Center. Corporate sponsorships are now available from the Jay County Chamber of Commerce. Booth rental will be $150 for chamber members and $200 for non-members.
Transition ahead
Samvardhana Motherson Group’s focus will be changing during the next five years, its chairman Vivek Chaand Sehgal told the Nikkei Asian Review in Thailand in a November interview.
Motherson Sumi Systems, parent company of MSSL Wiring Systems of Portland, is the flagship company of the group, which has grown dramatically over the past several years via acquisition.
“At the moment we are almost 99 percent OEM (original equipment manufacturer),” Sehgal said. “The next five years, when it comes around, we will be 70 percent automotive.”
“Over the past decade, Motherson Sumi has grown at a compound annual rate of more than 40 percent, due mostly to a number of mergers and acquisitions. The company has averaged one acquisition every year since 2002, when it decided to buy Wexford Electronics of Ireland. The company is also known for turning around loss-making businesses, as it did with Visiocorp, a British rear-view mirror maker, and Peguform, a German plastics company,” Nikkei Asian Review reported.
Its products include wiring harnesses such as those produced in Jay County, car mirrors, automotive plastic components, trims and bumpers. It also makes goggles for treating sleep disorders.
Sehgal said the company hopes to nearly quadruple its sales by 2020 and become one of the world’s largest automotive component manufacturers while developing new revenue outside of the auto parts business.
"I don't think it will be so much by acquisitions," he told Nikkei Asian Review. "We are looking at some very exciting technologies by Motherson at the moment.”
Weak quarter
Dollar General Corp. reported lower than expected earnings this week, and the company blamed the results on changes in food-stamp programs around the country.
The company reported a third-quarter profit of $235.3 million or 84 cents a share. That’s down from $253.3 million or 86 cents a share for the same period a year ago.
Revenue was up 5 percent to $5.32 billion.
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