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History
During the height of the Great Depression in 1931, John Tyson moved his family to Springdale, Arkansas, after hearing about opportunity there. He was virtually broke, but he had a good truck and soon found work hauling live chickens for local farmers. In 1935, he devised an ingenious way to feed and water chickens en route, which enabled him to haul them farther than other carriers could. Having found out that chickens were bringing better prices in large urban markets, he invested his savings in 500 birds and took off for Chicago to sell them. His speculation paid off, and soon he was hauling chickens to other large cities, including Cincinnati, Detroit, and Houston.
During the 10 years after his first trip to Chicago, John Tyson pioneered many new ways to bring chickens to market. Laying the foundation for the modern poultry business, he started raising his own chickens and producing his own chicken feed. He even created a network of local growers to manage the exponential growth in demand for TysonŽ products. During the late 1950s, Don Tyson joined the family business and immediately pushed to make chicken even more convenient for users. He began with the then-novel idea of cutting up chicken before sending it to supermarkets. Under his leadership, the company innovated poultry favorites from Cornish game hens to family meal kits.
In April 1963, the company made its first public stock offering. By 1965, the company was producing 42 million chickens a year. Today it produces about that many every week. |
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