By: Cynthia Kurtz
Posted 10/09/2013 Every year the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership honors the movers and shakers who make the San Gabriel Valley such a special place. And every year I wonder if we will find honorees that are as deserving as past recipients. I shouldn't worry. Every year we find great companies, organizations and businesses to celebrate, and 2013 was no exception.
Our 2013 Business of the Year is Snak King - an inspiring
SGV success story. In 2012 alone the company launched 107 new products,
acquired Illinois based C.J. Vitner Co., one of the oldest names in the snack
food industry, essentially doubled its work force to 900 employees, and more
than doubled its floor capacity to 600,000 square feet, putting an exclamation
mark on the company’s reputation as an industry leader.
Success hasn’t come easily. Snak King was founded in 1978
to produce private-label pork rinds for a local tavern distributor. Chairman
and CEO, Barry Levin, started on the production floor making pork rinds,
running the fryer, operating the forklift, making sales calls, and keeping the
books. The company lost $100,000 in its first year.
A year later, with the company losing money and just
three employees, Barry was convinced by his family to take over the business. Two
years later Snak King earned a profit. Barry reinvested those profits into the
company and gradually added to the product line. In 1994, Snak King purchased
its current location in the City of Industry.
Then in 2004, torrential rains caused the roof to
collapse at the production facility. The company's future was at risk. Friends
advised "take the insurance money and walk away." But the Snak King
team rebuilt and retooled the facility at a cost of $30 million. It took three
years to bring the facility back to full production, but they did it and they
haven't looked back.
Today Snak King is one of the largest independent snack
food manufacturers in the United States. Their own brands - Granny Goose,
Jensen's Orchard, El Sabroso, The Whole Earth and Vitner's - can be found in
stores, vending machines and supermarkets across the world.
The formula for their success: a commitment to providing
the best snack products for their customers and a focus on "team." Barry
Levin is the face of the company but he quickly gives credit to his team. Focusing
on the team, he believes, allows for greater innovation, better execution and
stronger customer service.
Congratulations to Barry Levin and the entire Snak King
team. We are proud to have you in the San Gabriel Valley.
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