The Jamaica Broilers Group is continuing its expansion into the United States, as the company reached an agreement to acquire the Gentry’s Poultry Company plant in Ward, South Carolina.
According to a report from the Jamaica Observer, Jamaica Broilers acquired the facility through its Wincorp Properties subsidiary, and assumed ownership of the property on September 18.
“The acquisition of Gentry's Poultry allows for the completion of the vertically integrated model in the United States,” said Stephen Levy, president of U.S. operations for the Jamaica Broilers Group.
The company, while headquartered in St. Catherine, Jamaica, also has a growing presence in the United States. In July 2013, Jamaica Broilers acquired England Packing Co. Inc., a U.S.-incorporated producer and distributor of fertile (hatching) poultry eggs.
In 2017, the company announced that it had acquired a hatchery in Big Valley, Pennsylvania, from Bell & Evans for an undisclosed amount. In making that acquisition, Jamaica Broilers said that the new hatchery would enable the company to extend its market reach, possibly even reaching people in Canada.
In 2018 Jamaica Broilers finalized the acquisition of a feed mill in Georgia from Crystal Farm Mills Inc.
Gentry’s Poultry Company, according to the WATTAgNet Top Poultry Companies Database, is a family-owned and operated poultry processing company founded in the 1950’s. It specializes in selling fresh chicken products to restaurants, institutions, grocers and brokers. It employs 165. Gentry’s produced 1 million pounds of ready-to-cook chicken on a weekly basis in 2018; the same amount as the previous year. Its 2018 sales totaled $40 million, also the same amount as 2017. The company was founded in the 1950s.
Jamaica Broilers Group Ltd., also according to the WATTAgNet Top Poultry Companies Database, is a fully integrated poultry processor that markets its products under the Best Dressed Chicken and Hi-Pro brand names.
