From the outside, Butterball, LLC’s, new corporate headquarters in Garner, N.C., looks like just about any other modern one story building in a largely unpopulated industrial park. But, once you are inside the building you can see that this facility is definitely not ordinary.
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The 26,000 square foot facility features a high-tech "customer experience center" with a state-of-the-art kitchen that is used to educate retailers and foodservice customers about the versatility of turkey meat products. The building also features a memorabilia room that showcases a timeline of the Butterball brand as well as brand collectibles.
Keith Shoemaker, president and CEO, Butterball, LLC, said, “This building will help us to enhance our position by bringing the whole management group together. The building’s layout allows for more interaction and communication.”
Modern décor and high ceilings are found throughout the facility. | Visitors waiting area features a flat screen which plays highlights from television shows about the Butterball Turkey Talk Line. |
Eventually, 85 to 90 people will have offices at this facility. Corporate sales, marketing, human resources, finance, operations, public affairs and quality assurance have all been brought together. The building was designed so that the office space can easily be doubled in size.
Butterball has operations in seven states in three different time zones. A video conferencing system from Polycom is being used by the company to enhance communications between facilities while keeping travel costs down. This system allows Butterball to have product cuttings and QC correlations with all of the plants at the same time, with zero travel cost and no time lost. During my visit to the Butterball corporate office I attended a QC correlation and a sales meeting, all done electronically. This system is being used for in-house training session of all kinds. Shoemaker said that the technology paid for itself quickly in travel savings and saving the time of key personnel who would have wasted a time traveling to and from meeting sites.
The domed skylight floods the product exhibition area with natural light. | Consumer packaged goods display is one of three product types featured in this area. |
Deli breast’s on display in the product exhibition area. | Professional grade appliances and pleasing décor make the product demonstration kitchen a hit with visitors. |
The history of the Butterball brand is recognized with a “wall of innovation.” | Competitive product cutting taking place at Butterball’s headquarters. |
Memorabilia from 54 years of the Butterball brand | Happy Thanksgiving from WATT |