Niman Ranch
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|
| Private | |
| Industry | Food distribution |
| Founded | 1969 |
| Founder | Bill Niman |
| Headquarters | Bolinas, California, Oakland, California, USA |
|
Key people
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Bill Niman, Founder and Former Chairman (no longer associated with company) Jeff Swain, CEO Jeff Tripician, Executive Vice President Eric Silvius, CFO |
| Products | Beef, Pork, Lamb, and Poultry |
| Revenue | $75 million projected 2008 |
|
Number of employees
|
110 |
| Subsidiaries | Niman Ranch Pork Co. |
| Website | nimanranch.com |
Niman Ranch is a San Francisco Bay Area based ranch, meat processor and distributor of high quality beef, lamb, and pork, founded by rancher William Ellis "Bill" Niman, who has since left the company. Niman Ranch is owned by Chicago-based Natural Food Holdings (part of Hilco Equity Partners).
In 1969 Niman, a hippie and elementary school teacher, moved from Minnesota to the small coastal town of Bolinas, California. There he purchased a ranch for $18,000 to begin a part-time pig, goat, and chicken farming operation. His first cattle were acquired as trade for tutoring services.
For several years, Niman operated as a typical family farm. In 1978 Orville Schell, journalist and factory farming critic, became a partner in the operation, and the company was renamed "Niman-Schell Meats." The next year they began to raise cattle exclusively. The US government condemned the then-struggling farm by eminent domain in 1984 to become part of the Point Reyes National Seashore. Niman and Schell received $1.3 million in compensation and were allowed to continue grazing cattle on the property for the rest of their lives in exchange for nominal rent.
By 1994, the company had developed a reputation for high quality beef but demand was exceeding the company's production capacity. In 1994 Niman met Iowa pork farmer Paul Willis, and began private labeling Willis' meat under the name "Niman-Schell".
In 1997 Niman undertook an ambitious expansion, aided by management changes and several million dollars of funding. That year investors Rob Hurlbut and Mike McConnell became owner-partners and the company was renamed "Niman-McConnell". Hurlbut, a former manager of coffee for Nestle, became the CEO. Orville Schell left to become dean of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Subsequently, the company also accepted funding from Pacific Community Ventures, a community development venture capitalist itself funded in large part by the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS).
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Wikipedia