FPEC Flexes to Meet Meat Demands

Evidence of Food Processing Equipment Co. can be found in almost any fast-food drive-through. McDonald’s chicken nuggets, Burger King’s hamburgers and Arby’s roast beef sandwiches all owe some of their production to FPEC, said owner Alan Davison.

“All the major fast-food chains utilize our machines,” he said.

About 30 employees in the 36,000-SF FPEC Springdale plant manufacture food processors such as meat mixers and marinating tumblers that resemble cement trucks. The largest of the tumblers holds 10,000 pounds of meat and seasoning juices.

Meat moguls such as Tyson Foods Inc., IBP Inc. and ConAgra Foods Inc. purchase the large machines from low-profile FPEC to further process poultry, beef and pork for retail. The industry term “further processing” includes mixing, marinating and pressing the meats for different uses. Uniform chicken patties —similarly shaped and precisely proportioned— are products of further processing.

The plant’s general manager, Larry Butler, said 300-400 machines ship from the Springdale location annually, and each piece carries a one-year warranty. Davison and Butler refused to disclose company financial figures, opting for privacy.

Davison manages FPEC’s operations by traveling between plants in Springdale and Santa Fe Springs, Calif., which is considered the company’s administrative headquarters. A family business, FPEC was started in 1959 by Davison’s father, John Davison, and his partner Armond Villian in California. Alan Davison took the reigns at age 23 when his father died in 1974.

FPEC expanded into Northwest Arkansas in 1991, strategically locating close to most of the meat-processing plants in the nation and taking advantage of the growing poultry market.

International ventures make up about 5 percent of the company’s business, Davison said. FPEC recently formed a partnership with two plants in France that make hot dogs, shish-kebobs and dog food.

FPEC plans to continue expanding into international meat markets, Butler said.

Diversity within the processing industry is another goal for FPEC. Depending solely on one market makes a manufacturer vulnerable to the ebb and flow of its particular demands.

The slowing of the poultry market has not crippled FPEC, as the company also caters to beef and pork distributors, allowing for some slack within the separate industries.

“[FPEC] is diversified enough that some of the other areas help fill in the gaps,” Davison said.

The next step for FPEC leads to ready-made foods. Microwaveable, home-cooked-quality meals are the next link for food-processing evolution, Davison said. Beef products such as pot roast and vegetables have already found success in the ready-made selections.

To meet the new demand, FPEC is developing a line of cooking processors. Four engineers at the Springdale plant design the machines made and sold through the company. The team develops one or two new machines each year, Davison said.

Once the plans are completed, skilled craftsmen assemble the pieces. Maintaining a dependable staff is crucial to FPEC, Davison said.

“We can’t build this stuff without a stable work force,” he said, adding that competitive wages and valuable benefit packages are two standard practices for retaining employees at FPEC.

“Many of our people are homeowners,” Davison said. “We pay our people quite well,” and turnover for the plant is “negligible,” with a loss on average of about one person per year.