Cal-Maine

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. [www.calmainefoods.com] is the largest fresh egg producer in the United States. The Jackson, Mississippi-based company controls 13 percent of the market, selling more than 600 million dozen shell eggs each year in 28 states, mostly in mid-Atlantic, midwestern, southeastern, and southwestern states.

Cal-Maine eggs are sold to supermarket chains, club stores, foodservice distributors, and egg product manufacturers, and marketed under several names: Cal-Maine, Rio Grande, and Sunups. The company also produces and markets specialty shell eggs under two brands: Egg-Land's Best for low-cholesterol eggs, and Farmhouse for eggs laid by uncaged hens. The Cal-Maine flock consists of 20 million laying hens and another five million young female chickens (pullets) and breeders.

Cal-Maine is a public company trading on the NASDAQ, headed by its founder, Fred R. Adams, Jr., whose family owns a controlling interest.

Principal Subsidiaries

* Cal-Maine Farms, Inc.
* Southern Equipment Distributors, Inc.
* South Texas Applicators, Inc.
* Cal-Maine Partnership, Ltd.
* CMF of Kansas, LLC.

tatistics

* Public Company
* Incorporated: 1969
* Employees: 1,520
* Sales: $572.3 million (2004)
* Stock Exchanges: NASDAQ
* Ticker Symbol: CALM
* NAIC: 112310 Chicken Egg Production

Cal-Maine Timeline

1969: The company is incorporated.
1990: Cal-Maine acquires Sunny Fresh Foods for $21.6 million.
1992: Cal-Maine becomes an Egg-Land's Best franchisee.
1996: The company is taken public.
1999: Smith Farms, Inc. is acquired.
2003: The company decides not to return to private status.

References