Johnsonville has announced the acquisition of Denmark, Wis.-based Salm Partners, a co-manufacturer of co-extruded food products and longstanding co-packing partner of the Sheboygan County, Wis.-based sausage and meat processor, according to a release from Johnsonville. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Johnsonville said Salm Partners would continue to operate as its own entity, with its current leadership and business model in place.
As a result of the deal and shifting of some of its production, Johnsonville also said it plans to close the Meadowside plant at its corporate headquarters in Sheboygan County by the end of 2024, with a portion of its RTE sausage production shifting to Salm’s facilities. The company confirmed that all 390 Meadowside employees would be employed through at least the end of June — and those that remained with the company through that time would receive a “stay-on” bonus.
Johnsonville additionally said it would work to retain as many employees as possible in its Sheboygan Falls production positions, as well as other facilities. The Countryside and Riverside manufacturing plants at the HQ complex remain operational, the company said.
Salm, which had been owned by Entrepreneurial Equity Partners, produces fully cooked sausage and premium hot dogs in two processing plants in Denmark, some 50 miles north of Johnsonville’s headquarters. Johnsonville expects the acquisition to help it grow not only its own RTE sausage business, but the RTE sausage category as a whole, based on the increased access to Salm’s innovative meat processing technologies.
