ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, November 13, 1996 TAG: 9611130101
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON
A leadership change at pork producer Smithfield Foods Inc. was good news Tuesday for the company's processing house in Salem.
The new Smithfield Foods president, Lewis Little, "is a very capable person," said Bill Weisgerber, plant manager at Valleydale Foods Inc.
Little, 53, replaces John Nielson, who, the company announced Tuesday, was resigning immediately as president, chief operating officer and company director.
Little knows the Salem operation from periodic inspection visits. His growth strategy is part of the reason the plant is busier, Weisgerber said.
Valleydale hired 17 people about a month ago to create a second shift for ham processing. That brought production employment to 220. Weekly, the workers cure, slice and package nearly 500,000 pounds of bacon, process 350,000 pounds of ham and make 75,000 pounds of smoked sausage, Weisgerber said.
Little most recently led the company's Gwaltney of Smithfield Ltd. division, of which Valleydale is one part. "He is a very aggressive individual and he thinks ahead and he gets things done and he's a motivator," Weisgerber said.
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