A year ago, Ranchers Lamb
of Texas, Inc., was able to get a contract with H.E.B. Food Stores
of San Antonio, Texas, to be the sole supplier of lamb to all its
300 retail outlets. In addition, Ranchers Lamb, which has been in
existence for five years, has since contracted to supply case-ready
lamb to 170 Albertson Stores, a number of Fiesta Stores and is negotiating
contracts with Brookshire Stores and Kroger Inc.
Wayne Snyder, president and general manager of Ranchers Lamb, believes
the success in marketing product is a result of getting the loan to
finance the new fabrication plant that opened in January 2001. Now
plans are in the making for another expansion to provide more case-ready
product as demand grows with new contracts.The H.E.B. contract this
year helped to increase sales by 30 percent, he said.
"When we first opened, it was strictly a carcass plant,"
said Justin Jonas, sales manager. "We were at the mercy of a
few breakers in the U.S. who literally set the price. Now we can compete
with them."
The fabrication plant, including the 10,000 square-foot building,
coolers, freezers, loading dock and fabrication equipment, was funded
by a loan from the National Livestock Producers Association and a
grant from the San Angelo Development Corporation. The original investment
for the slaughter plant amounted to nearly $4 million. With later
expansions, the plant is now valued at $7.5 to $8 million. The next
expanion, including a 30,000 square-foot building, will cost about
$3 million, Snyder said.
In order to be more efficient in delivering product to grocery chain
distribution centers, Ranchers Lamb has just purchased four refrigerated
trailers and will begin hauling case-ready lamb direct rather than
having to contract with private trucking firms.
"We will have our own dispatchers, drivers, mechanics and others
to keep the trucks and trailers in good condition and rolling on schedule,"
Jonas said. "It will help sales, as well as help extent product
shelf-life."
"We are doing everything we can to enhance the product, from
advertising to finding ways to extend shelf life," Snyder said.
The best way to maximize shelf life of the meat product is to keep
it at temperatures of 34 degrees or less. The plant’s coolers
are kept at 28-30 degrees. Generally, the shelf life of a prepackaged,
pre-priced cut of lamb is 10 to 12 days.
At present, Ranchers Lamb is processing 4,000 to 5,000 lambs and from
700 to 2,000 goats per week. The long drought in Texas and New Mexico
has reduced the number of lambs being raised, thus the plant is getting
lambs from California, the Dakotas, and from Kansas.
"There has been a strong market for the pelts all year long,"
Jonas said. He sells the pelts each Monday, which have been graded
by Custom Skins of San Angelo. Most of the pelts go to Russia for
use in the clothing and leather trade.
In recent years, the demand for goat meat his shown a big increase
among the Muslim population in the United States. Snyder said the
plant has not focused its goat meat sales toward any ethnic group.
However, a large percentage goes to Mexico and the Florida island
trade.
Snyder said he would like
to see a research project started to make goat meat more tender. Some
work has been done in cooperation with the Texas Agriculture Extension
Service. He believes there would be an expanded market for goat meat
if it could be naturally tenderized and made more tasty.
Recently, Ranchers Lamb
made a very favorable presentation to the Southwest Restaurant Association’s
Food Service Expo in Houston where more than 5,000 people sampled
the firm’s lamb meatballs, Snyder said. Snyder and other company
officials were especially pleased to hear the comments from many in
the industry who said "they were surprised at how mild the American
lamb was." A San Angelo restaurant-catering service operator
named Kenny Blanek helped prepare and serve the product for the Houston
event.
"It was very successful," said Snyder. "We will be
doing it again next year."
The company also has worked out an arrangement with Executive Chef
Scott Cohen of a San Antonio hotel chain to create special recipes
that will be featured in forthcoming full-color advertising that will
be in food service publications. The first will feature pecan-crusted
rack of lamb.
Snyder says Ranchers Lamb of Texas is in a position to deliver its
products to a customer’s warehouse or distributing center much
quicker than processors of imported lamb.He points out that it takes
weeks for Australia and New Zealand competitors to deliver their products
to American consumers.
"We can process and fill an order within days," he said.
Ranchers Lamb of Texas is a unique operation. Opened in 1997 near
San Angelo, the lamb processing facility is the first rancher-owned
plant of its kind. The firm was started by a group of some 300 West
Texas investors, including ranchers and their friends and fellow businessmen.
The facility has more than 100 employes and expects to hire more in
the coming weeks. The newest expansion, still a year or more away,.
will add another 30 to 50 workers to the payroll.
"We are excited about our growth potential," Snyder said.
