Pendleton, Ore.-based Hill Meat Co. was founded back in 1947, establishing itself as a community slaughterhouse and meat packer. Though Hill Meat Co. has always been family owned and operated, the same family has not always been at the helm.

Back in 1947, the company was started by the Hill family, then sold to the Perkins/Gaboury family, then to the Cheney family, who runs the company today and is passionate about making high-quality pork products. To get the inside scoop on Hill Meat Co., its recent expansion and commitment to quality, we consulted with Hill Meat Co. President Nicole Cheney-Sorensen.

Cheney-Sorensen noted that, when her family first started with Hill Meat, her father Jim helped the business narrow its focus, honing expertise in pork production. “Since then, we have completely renovated the entire production facility, more than doubled the size it was when Jim first got here and installed new processing and technology whenever possible,” Cheney-Sorensen said.

With three generations actively involved in day-to-day operations, the Cheney family pays close attention to detail and quality. “I think that because we are such a closely held family company, we have a culture throughout our entire team that we care about our products; how they are made, how they will look on the shelf and how they will taste,” Cheney-Sorensen said.

Hill Meat Co. specifically uses pork derived from hogs raised with Duroc genetics. Over time, the Cheney family has discovered the benefit of Duroc pork.

"When working with producers with Duroc programs, we identified a source with superior muscle mass and conformation which, in our opinion, gets you an end result of a richer tasting pork product,” Cheney-Sorensen said.

Quality has always been of the utmost importance to the Cheney family. Hill Meat Co. supports solely using products that add flavor or enhance food safety..

“We just think that simple is best.  Really that goes for anything whether it’s food or anything else,” Cheney-Sorensen said. “Understand what you’re doing, the best, simplest way to accomplish it, and likely that will be the best option.”

Food safety is also vital to Hill Meat Co. The company has invested millions of dollars into their food safety programs and interventions, reflecting how important food safety is to the Hill Meat business.

“We’re dealing with people’s health and lives being in the food business and we are highly aware of our responsibility to bring a safe, wholesome product to market,” Cheney-Sorensen said. “We are proud to have a BRC AA+ certification.”

Bacon is the top seller for Hill Meat Co., equating to about 60% of the company’s total sales. “A consistent best seller is our 3lb. package of thick sliced double smoked bacon. One of our newer offerings with it’s own little cult following is our Seriously Thick Bacon; for the serious carnivores.”

Hill Meat Co. recently broke ground on its $18 million expansion effort, doubling smokehouse capacity. With an additional 30,000 square feet added to the Pendleton facility, the Cheney family is able to enhance operational efficiency while utilizing new, advanced processing equipment.

“It will cost us $18-20M by the time it’s all said and done and will nearly double our cooking/smoking capacity,” Cheney-Sorensen said. “We’ll really be able maximize efficiency with redirecting product flow, pass-through ovens and new stream system.” The Cheney family anticipates their plant expansion to be completed in September 2025.

Hill Meat Co. is passionate about high-quality pork production. By doubling smokehouse capacity, the company is showing its commitment to increasing product availability for consumers. “We are nothing without our customers,” Cheney-Sorensen said. “We realize that and we do everything we can to make sure they are taken care of. Trust is really important to us and we feel like, hope at least, that our customers have trust in us.”

www.provisoneronline.com   |   november 2024