Brazil-based Marfrig Global Foods has named Gustavo Kahl as the new CEO of Quickfood, an Argentina-based company that Marfrig recently acquired from fellow Brazilian company BRF.
Kahl, holds a B.Sc. in industrial engineering from the Technological Institute of Buenos Aires (ITBA) and has 29 years of experience in the beef industry.
Marfrig concluded the acquisition of Quickfood on January. Quickfood is one of several Argentina-based business assets that BRF announced it would divest of in an effort to improve its financial position. In June 2018, BRF revealed it would also divest of business assets in Europe and Thailand, and would instead focus its efforts in Brazil and certain Asian markets, as well as markets that have a high Muslim population.
BRF is also in the process of divesting of Argentinian assets Avex, a poultry company, and Campo Austral, a pork business.
In a press release, Marfrig stated that the Quickfood units will be integrated into Marfrig’s South American operational portfolio, under the leadership of Miguel Bularte. Quickfood operates three plants with combined monthly production capacity of 6,000 tons of processed products. Quickfood also owns some of the most recognized brands in the Argentinean market, such as Paty beef patties and Vieníssimaa hot dogs, with Marfrig calling the latter the leader in its segment.
Marfrig Global Foods’ acquisition of Quickfood came just a couple of months after it completed the divestiture of Keystone Foods, which at the time was the tenth largest poultry company in the United States. Keystone Foods was acquired by Tyson Foods for a price of US$2.16 billion. However, one Keystone Foods asset, a beef patty plant in North Baltimore, Ohio, was not included in the transaction with Tyson Foods.
Marfrig in 2018 also acquired the majority stake in United States-based business National Beef Packing Company, the fourth largest beef company in the nation.
