THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 29, 1994 TAG: 9406280108
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JODY R. SNIDER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940629 LENGTH: Long
The second time, she knows the product with the Hamilton name.
{REST} Seven years ago, Smithfield Packing Co. president George E. Hamilton Jr. made his biggest sales pitch ever to housewives - himself.
Now, as Hamilton retires as president of Smithfield Packing Co. at 78, his face and name appear on 50 pork products that sell for an estimated $250 million a year.
Robert W. Manly replaces Hamilton as president of Smithfield Packing Company.
Joseph W. Luter III, chairman, president and CEO of Smithfield Foods Inc., parent company to Smithfield Packing, made Hamilton a household name around 1987 when he put Hamilton's face and name on a special cut of ham.
``I thought his name had a good ring to it - Hamilton Ham,'' Luter said a few days ago. ``And we took a few pictures, and they looked good. That's how it all started.''
I've been very lucky,'' Hamilton said from his waterfront home on Cypress Creek in Smithfield. ``I've always had good bosses. Joe Luter, he was the best. He's a real leader. And as long as you could perform, you ran your own ship.
And employees say Hamilton ran a tight ship.
He held the reins at Smithfield Packing Co. for 24 years, earning the reputation of a tough taskmaster who thought nothing of giving public tongue-lashings to employees who were lacking in performance.
``He was a tough, demanding manager who expected the best,'' Luter said.
``And if someone was slacking off or showing any kind of sign that they weren't doing their best, then he would come down on them pretty hard,'' Luter added.
Hamilton's secretary Rae Pittman said: ``He would tell you in front of a thousand people if you had done something wrong.
``He had a picture of Gen. Patton and Dwight D. Eisenhower on the wall in his office,'' said Pittman, ``and I think he considered himself like them - having that strong rule,'' she said.
Although Hamilton is known for his firm hand, he is also credited by Luter and other top management for taking a fledgling Smithfield Packing and bringing it to its feet.
``He was responsible for a large part of Smithfield Packing's success,'' Luter said.
Tom Ross, vice president of human resources for Smithfield Packing, said Hamilton was a hard-driving businessman, who expected his team to perform the same way.
And Ross said changes did occur when Hamilton took over Smithfield Packing.
``Our volume increased,'' Ross said. ``And profits increased - all because of his direction.
``This is a low-margin industry,'' Ross said, ``and you have to watch productivity. You have to be careful on spending. He watched all that on a daily basis. He knew what should be happening and what shouldn't.''
Pittman said Hamilton could be walking through the sales department at Smithfield Packing and hear a salesperson on the phone, quoting prices.
``He'd stop them in mid-sentence and ask: `Who you quoting?' Then he'd say: `That's too high.' You couldn't fool him,'' Pittman said.
Lewis Little, president of Gwaltney of Smithfield Ltd. and former employee of Hamilton, said Hamilton set the tone and atmosphere for a very business-like workplace.
``He made people want to perform,'' Little said. ``And when you took something to him, you did your homework because you knew he'd be looking at it,'' Little recalled.
Hamilton started in the meatpacking business in 1935 as a laborer for Swift and Co. in Richmond. He made $12 a week.
In comparison, in 1991 as president of Smithfield Packing Company, he was listed in the June 1992 edition of the Virginian-Pilot and Ledger-Star's Hampton Roads Almanac as one of 24 Virginia executives earning more than $1 million annually.
Hamilton is reported to have earned $2.6 million in cash, stock options and other compensation in 1991.
For the next two years, Hamilton will be paid as a consultant to Smithfield Packing. He will also remain on Smithfield Foods Inc. nine-member board of directors.
``My goal has always been sales,'' said Hamilton. ``And I believe I could have sold anything as long as I was trained to know the product,'' he said.
And Hamilton does know his product. He knows how it smells. He knows how it tastes and looks compared to a competitor's product.
In fact, Hamilton said the best way to sell his product is to take a sample of it, and one of a competitor's to a buyer for comparison.
``That means your product has to be better tasting and looking than the competition,'' Hamilton said.
``The product has to be good, but it has to be good all the time,'' he said. ``People are creatures of habit. They don't like change. And consistency in food is important.''
Hamilton also credits his success to his wife of 50 years, Nancy Miller Hamilton.
``Every man has a boss,'' he said. ``And the boss looks at the entire family. She knew how to dress and entertain. She knew how to talk. And she was an educated and attractive person,'' Hamilton said.
``Wives are extremely important to their husbands' careers,'' said Nancy Hamilton, ``because you have to be willing to follow him wherever he goes when he's given a transfer.
``He'd never be where he is today if I hadn't followed him. You've got to be willing to go.''
by CNB