Value Frozen Foods Inc history

Clarence Birdseye was born in 1886 in Brooklyn, New York A taxidermist by trade, but a chef at heart, Clarence Birdseye wished his family could have fresh food all year.

In 1912, a biology student from Amherst College named Clarence Birdseye ran out of money and came to Labrador to trap and trade furs.

Clarence-Birdseye History of Frozen FoodThe modern frozen food industry, dates back to 1917 when Clarence Birdseye, whilst fur trading Labrador Canada, observed local inhabitants preserve fresh fish and meat by letting it freeze rapidly in Arctic temperatures.

On July 7th, 1918, Ettore and Michelina welcomed their son Jeno into the world.

In 1923, with an investment of $7 for an electric fan, buckets of brine, and cakes of ice, Clarence Birdseye invented and later perfected a system of packing fresh food into waxed cardboard boxes and flash-freezing under high pressure.

The Goldman-Sachs Trading Corporation and the Postum Company (later the General Foods Corporation) bought Clarence Birdseye’s patents and trademarks in 1929 for $22 million.

In 1944, he leased the first insulated railroad cars so that he could ship his products nationwide.

Earley-Freezer-image History of Frozen FoodFirst Ready Meal The volume of frozen food products on the market took off rapidly and the first frozen ready meal hit the freezer aisles in 1953.

In 1954, the company adapted some of Birdseye's freezing techniques, a segmented aluminum tray -- that was being used for airline food -- turkey, potatoes, vegetables, a clever name and a huge advertising budget to create the first "TV Dinner." It was a product whose time had come.

United Foods was incorporated as United Industries Company, Inc., in Texas in 1956.

By 1959, Americans were spending $2.7 billion annually on frozen foods.

In 1961, the company adopted its present name and went public, listing its stock on the American Stock Exchange.

The corporate entity that would become Overhill was founded in 1963 as Kappa Networks, an electronics firm located in Rahway, New Jersey.

In 1966 it divested itself of its small business investment company, First United Capital Corporation.

In 1967 United Foods made four major acquisitions in the frozen food business: Trappe Frozen Foods Corporation of Trappe, Maryland; Othello Packers, Inc., of Othello, Washington; Dulany Foods, Inc., a subsidiary of Green Giant Co.; and the frozen food business of California Consumers Corporation.

For its 1968 fiscal year United Foods had net income of $57,216 on revenues of $28.8 million.

Through a stock swap United Foods acquired the John Inglis Frozen Foods Company of Modesto, California, in November 1970.

The second major operating subsidiary, Winter Garden Freezer Co., Inc., of Tennessee, was acquired in November 1971.

Kappa sold its filter business to a former employee in 1973 and under terms of the deal was not allowed to engage in the business for four years.

In 1975, for example, it had net income of $3.3 million on revenues of $106.5 million.

By 1977, when John Inglis retired, the company was one of the largest processors and marketers of frozen vegetables in the United States.

A new management team was put in place at United Foods in March 1978, led by J.O. Tankersley, chairman and CEO, and James I. Tankersley, president and chief operating officer.

In 1979 United Foods had record revenues of $122.2 million, but a disappointing net profit of only $.6 million.

In 1980 the company announced it would undertake a program of acquisitions to diversify its operations within the field of agribusiness.

Starting in 1981 the company began a concerted effort to tap into this market.

By June 1982, United Foods had completed its acquisition of Freezer Queen Foods, Inc.

After two years of net losses it had returned to profitability, but it would not attain that level of net income again until 1983.

As expected, the company had record sales in 1984, due primarily to the acquisitions of Freezer Queen and Stokely-Van Camp.

In 1985, Jeno sold Jeno's Pizza Rolls to Pillsbury.

At the end of February 1986 it sold the assets used in the Freezer Queen Division for $35.6 million to James Crean of Ireland, using proceeds to reduce the company's long-term debt.

United Foods also owned and operated three mushroom farms located in Utah, California, and Oregon, acquired in 1987 when United Foods was the high bidder in bankruptcy proceedings for certain assets of Mushroom King, Inc.

Findus launched calorie counted Lean Cuisine (note the microwaveable packaging). McCain boosted the healthy profile of its pioneering Oven Chips in 1988 with the introduction of Sunflower Oil.

In July 1989 Pearl, nearing 70 years of age, stepped down as CEO in favor of Paul Stevens, who had joined the company earlier in the year to serve as the general manager of the Polyphase division.

In January 1990 he closed down the struggling Kappa/Viz Test Equipment Division.

1991: The name is changed to Polyphase Corp.

1992: Paul Tanner and James Rudis are named directors.

On January 1, 1993 they bought Computer Systems Concepts, a Long Island City, New York company involved in the computer marketing, service, and networking business.

Polyphase continued to pick up a diversified mix of businesses in 1994.

1995: Overhill Farms subsidiary is formed to acquire IBM Foods.

Although revenues for 1996 increased significantly, approaching $150 million, the company lost nearly $400,000.

Polyphase suffered an even more disappointing year in 1997.

Revenues fell to $141.4 million for fiscal 1998, but the company lost only $329,000.

In fiscal 1999 Polyphase sold off its Polyphase Instrument subsidiary, severing the company's ties to its past in electronics and leaving the holding company involved in two highly different businesses: food and forestry.

In September 2000 the subsidiary grew further by acquiring the operating assets and trademarks of the Chicago Brothers food business, in the process gaining the rights to two trademarked brands: "Chicago Brothers" and "Florence Pasta and Cheese."

In 2001 Polyphase decided to adopt the name of its subsidiary, becoming Overhill Corporation.

With the expected completion of these maneuvers in 2002, Overhill Farms would begin a new chapter as an independent food services company.

First published in 2007.

A husband, father, grandfather and pasta-lover, Jeno Paulucci passed away on November 24, 2011 at the age of ninety-three, after sixty- four years of marriage.

March 23, 2012 at 5:21 PM Thanks for all the informations ! It is still better to have some forzen veggies than nothing at all !!! LikeLike