It’s not the mouth-watering aroma of baby back ribs smoking on the grill or the crowd of people gathered that makes the United Animal Health tent so unique at the World Pork Expo. What makes their “camp” so special are the men behind the grill – all employees of the company – who draw in numbers of people each year to sit around and visit about the pork industry, life and more.
“About 11 years ago, I suggested to Trent Torrance that I could help with the grilling instead of hiring out services,” says Steve Buysse, a member of the poultry team at United Animal Health. “It just made sense to me to utilize our own team if we could.”
When Buysse was in eighth grade, he attended his first World Pork Expo and hasn’t missed one since.
“I came out here and saw all this hospitality and great food and decided I wanted to do this someday,” Buysse says. That led him to eventually compete in the Great BarbeQlossal at the World Pork Expo with his good friend Justin Hardin. They were named reserve champions in 2009.
For Buysse, the opportunity to now be one of the guys behind the United Animal Health grill is all about seeing people from the pork industry and making people happy with good food.
Company Culture in Action
Over the last five years, he’s formed a team of grillmasters that have become quite close. They include Virgil Gross, the feed mill manager in Sheridan, Ind.; Travis McGlauchlen, the feed mill manager in Griggsville, Ill.; and Dylan Reagan with logistics in Sheridan, Ind. Not only do they represent different facets of the company, but they also represent different generations and backgrounds.
“I just enjoy being here with all my colleagues and being able to put faces to names of colleagues that I’ve emailed back and forth, but never have met in person before,” Gross says.
McGlauchlen agrees and says it’s nice to have an opportunity to get together to talk about challenges and opportunities in person. For all four of the guys behind the grill, it’s about people. And that truly reflects the company culture.
“I’m probably one of the lucky ones being based in Sheridan. I’ve been with the company 18 years and had the privilege to be around Mr. John Swisher when he was there every day,” Gross says. “Mr. Swisher didn’t know a stranger. He knew everyone on the floor. Whether you worked in the warehouse, or you as a truck driver. He knew your name. He knew your wife’s name. He knew your kid’s name. And he would come out to what we called the ‘driver’s room’ and just sit and talk to us.”
Gross says the family-oriented culture is one of the best parts of his job.
“I started 18 years ago in maintenance but prior to that, I raised pigs on different farms. I was associated with United Feeds for 15 years before I ever started working for them,” Gross says. “So, really I’ve been with the company for more like 30 to 35 years.”
Customers appreciate the quiet location to come and sit down, relax and interact with the United Animal Health team, Buysse points out.
“We are a unique group because our company has diversified, both in the pork side with different pork entities, as well I’ve moved into the poultry world in the last three years. We’ve got feed mill managers, truck drivers and more here,” Buysse says. “It’s a unique situation where people from different parts of the company can get together for one reason.”
The Best Food on the Fairgrounds
Of course, let’s not be modest about how delicious the food is. The team starts the day at 4:30 a.m. and works until after dark preparing over 2,500 pounds of meat over the course of three days.
“It’s nice getting compliments on the food. You know, they say this is the best food on the fairgrounds,” Gross says. “We even have competitors come over and eat with us. It’s just a good community to be around.”
Although the most compliments usually come from the baby back ribs, Buysse says he enjoys taking the pork loin and finding creative ways to prepare it for the crowd of pork lovers.
“We’ll take the pork loin and do it any way we can think possible. We’ll shave it, we’ll slice it. We prepared a pork pineapple loin this year. We’ll do chops with an apple butter, brown sugar glaze,” Buysse says.
They also prepare pig wings and use sausage any way possible, he adds. Bacon-wrapped sausage and meatballs are always a hit.
“Besides the ribs, we get the most compliments from our smoked bologna. Yes, smoked bologna,” he laughs. “We buy a 5-lb. chub of bologna and smoke it for about two hours. It’s delicious. We try to come up with something new every year.”
One thing they tried this year was chocolate-covered bacon. They smoked bacon, smoked the chocolate and then covered the bacon in the chocolate.
At the end of the day, Buysse says his advice to cooking great pork is to not overcook it. Everything they do is low and slow, so he pays careful attention to not let the meat get overcooked.
“I’ve got four totes out there full of spices and rubs and barbecue sauce. Don’t be afraid to experiment,” he adds.
A Worthwhile Investment
Having a hospitality tent at the World Pork Expo isn’t cheap. But for United Animal Health president and chief executive officer Doug Webel, it’s a good investment in their customers and anyone who stops by to gain a greater appreciation of the pork industry.
“It gives us a chance to meet on neutral ground with our customers – where they’re not at the hog farm or in an office. They are out here enjoying themselves, the outdoors and good food,” Gross says. “Top that off with good conversation and getting some work done at the same time.”
Read More:
Top 5 Trends and Tips For the Barbeque Pit from ‘The Meat Guy’
Rural Revival: Why 3 Pig Farmers’ Wives Quit Teaching and Bought a Coffee Truck
BBQ Secrets Revealed: Sons of Butchers Opens Up About World Pork Expo Favorites
