Manila, Philippines,
10
June
2019
|
17:36 PM
America/Chicago

Johnsonville and Frabelle Form Joint Venture

The joint venture will be called Frabelle Corp. and will focus on the production, distribution and sales of chilled and frozen meats in the Philippines.

Manila, Philippines — The Philippine Competition Commission has approved U.S.-based Johnsonville, LLC to form a joint venture with Frabelle Fishing Corp., based in the Philippines. The joint venture will be called Frabelle Corporation (FBC), which will house the existing meat brands of Frabelle Fishing Corp. and manage Johnsonville’s business in the Philippines.

This joint venture will focus on the production, distribution and sales of chilled and frozen meats, primarily: sausages, tocinos, burgers, tapas, longganisa and hot dogs in the Philippines. The current Frabelle Foods brands (Premium, Yummy, Bossing, Cheezydog, Pinoy) will continue to be made in Manila and sold through its current sales network, while Johnsonville-brand sausages will now be sold exclusively through Frabelle’s sales and marketing network. The Frabelle Corporation manufacturing operation will be fully integrated into the Johnsonville supply-chain network.

“We’re honored to be partnering with a respected company such as Frabelle, to mutually accelerate our growth in this expanding region of Asia,” said Michael Stayer-Suprick, Johnsonville family member and president of the company’s international division. “This joint venture helps Johnsonville expand its growth in the SE Asia market, provides a distribution and manufacturing platform to expand our product reach in Philippines, and provides both Frabelle and Johnsonville employees with opportunities to share learnings as a group of meat-industry professionals.”

Stayer commented that Frabelle was an attractive partner for Johnsonville due to the company’s customer and consumer centricity, and focus on employee care – values important to Johnsonville. For the Laurel family, “we were seeking an industry leader we could associate with that would allow us to share technical, marketing and product-innovation resources that will improve our competitive position and help business growth,” said Fay Bernardo, Frabelle President. She and her brother, Francis Jr. Tiu-Laurel, will remain involved in the company, providing oversight and strategic leadership as board members. Johnsonville will assume day-to-day management of the venture.

Bernardo said that she expects future investments to be in growth-related segments, with productivity gains being redeployed in new areas. Frabelle’s current relationships with its customers and suppliers will remain intact, and “we’ll continue to serve the Philippine consumer with better quality and a variety of product and pricing options.”

A robust training plan has been prepared for employees of both companies. Key Frabelle employees will be traveling to Johnsonville’s Wisconsin facilities to train with employees there. While a few Johnsonville employees will also be assigned to Manila to learn local practices and help grow the manufacturing and distribution capabilities in the Philippines plants.

About Johnsonville, LLC

Wisconsin-based Johnsonville is the No. 1 national sausage brand, featuring: brats, Italian sausage, smoked-cooked links, breakfast sausage, summer sausage, and meatballs. Johnsonville products are served in more than 130 professional, college and semi-pro sports stadiums throughout the U.S.

Johnsonville employs approximately 2,000 members. Founded in 1945 by the late Ralph F. and Alice Stayer, the privately held company remains family owned today, providing various sausage products in more than 40 countries. For additional information, visit www.johnsonville.com.

About Frabelle Fishing Corp.

Frabelle Fishing Corporation, a prominent Philippine company, is based in Manila. The company is engaged in diverse business lines, primarily in fishing, seafood processing, meat products, shipbuilding, energy and real estate. For more information, visit http://frabelle.com/