ASSOCIATE MEMBER PROFILE
Schefter Poultry Providing quality through teamwork April Jackman, Events, Marketing & Communications Manager, MPO
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ocated in Gorrie Ontario and serving the north eastern corner of Huron County, Schefter Poultry was originally opened in 1977 by Jim and Marion Schefter. After 20 years of growing the business, market conditions caused them to close its doors in 1997. Over the next 9 years, demand for poultry began to steadily increase, and with a lack of processors in the area, Dale Schefter decided (after much research and consideration) to reopen the doors, and on July 13, 2006 the plant became fully operational once again. Initially the processing consisted of whole dressed birds in polybags, and over the last 14 years has evolved to offer several services including custom cutting with vacuum packaging, multi-species specialization, and organically certified processing with full traceability. But the one thing that stands out is Schefter Poultry’s attention to detail with custom poultry processing and providing their customers with exceptional quality with each and every cut. “I want my customers to be able to sell a quality product they can be proud of and run successful businesses because of our partnership.” says owner, Dale Schefter.
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BlockTalk - Summer 2020
Dale takes a team approach to running the business and credits the majority of the businesses success to his 35 employees, whom even through the uncertainties that have arisen during the pandemic, have banded together as a team to rapidly adapt to the changes required to keep the plant safe and operational. Protecting his team has been a top priority for Dale, and like many MPO members, Schefter Poultry has faced various challenges over the past few months and had to work quickly to introduce social distancing within the plant, purchase hand washing stations and implement new procedures for employees and customers entering the facility. And his staff have taken it all in stride, leaving Dale very proud of the team that he has built, recognizing the important role that they play as essential food workers. “So what’s your specialty?” I asked Dale. He was quick to respond; “Pretty much anything with feathers and white meat, we can turn into a high-quality product for our customers.” Schefter Poultry takes great pride in their attention to detail from the time the birds arrive on their property, all the way to the
www.meatpoultryon.ca
