In 1945, George L. Cagle opened up a poultry shop in downtown Atlanta. In his first week in business, he produced 25,000 pounds of chicken and began his journey in the poultry business, with his wife and son at his side. Today, J. Douglas Cagle, his son, is chairman and CEO of Cagle’s Inc. The company trades on the American Stock Exchange and their headquarters are still in Atlanta, Georgia.
With approximately 1,794 full-time employees, the company and their subsidiary, Cagle’s Farms Inc., produces, markets, and distributes a variety of fresh and frozen poultry products. The company operates their own feed mill, having built their original one in 1965. They also have their own breeder hens, which produce eggs on farms operated by exclusive farmer-contractors. Cagle’s also has a hatchery. These baby chickens are “grown out” on farms managed by other farmer-contractors.
Overall, the company’s operations consist of the hatching, breeding and growing of chickens. It also includes feed milling, processing, then specialized further processing, and marketing. Specialized further processing is to meet the need for quick take-home chicken meals in supermarket cases. The company introduced their packages of Cagle’s Pride IQF (Individually Quick Frozen) chicken. They process these chicken portions further, marinating and breading the chicken parts, so they are ready for consumption. This further processing is also to meet the needs of fast-food marketers who need a product that youthful employees can prepare consistently on site. Cagle’s meets specifications for further processed chicken parts, by offering pre-seasoned and ready to cook products for fast-food establishments.
Cagle’s produces and supplies their products to schools, quick-service restaurants, food processing companies, and foodservice distributors. They also market to independent and chain supermarkets, as well as international markets. They market their poultry products through their own sales staff and brokers. Almost 350 million pounds of their product are consumed annually.
Cagle’s knows all there is to know about chickens. They use that knowledge to come up with consistently tasty, innovative poultry products to serve their customers and shareholders alike. Cagle’s Inc. believes that along with health, convenience, and great taste, chicken will always offer variety and value for consumers.
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