McLane Company

McLane Company

Type	Subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.
Industry	Supply Chain Solutions
Founded	1894 in Cameron, Texas
Headquarters	Temple, Texas
Revenue	$34 billion (2009)
Employees	15,000
Website	www.mclaneco.com

McLane is a $78 billion supply chain services company, providing grocery and foodservice supply chain solutions for thousands of convenience stores, mass merchants, drug stores and military locations, as well as thousands of chain restaurants throughout the United States. McLane is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and is its single largest non-insurance business.^[1]

Founded in 1894 in Cameron, Texas, McLane Company has grown from a local merchant to an international distribution and logistics leader. The company is headquartered in Temple, Texas, and operates 38 grocery and foodservice distribution centers across the country.

Corporate Operations

McLane Company operates 20 grocery distribution centers and 18 foodservice distribution centers across the country. From these locations the company regularly services every state and county in the United States.

The President & CEO of McLane Company is W. Grady Rosier. He has held that position since 1995 and is a 20-year veteran of the company.

History

The history of McLane Company dates to 1894, when Robert McLane opened a small retail grocery store in downtown Cameron, Texas. In 1903, he expanded into wholesale trade, supplying grocery stores in neighboring towns via rail and horse-drawn wagons. During the 1920s through the 1940s, with the advent of the automobile and a robust highway system, his business grew rapidly to encompass much of the Central Texas region.

In 1966, McLane Company moved its operations to Temple, Texas, and began tailoring its warehouse operations and distribution methods to accommodate the unique needs of a nascent retail segment – convenience stores, which were popping up on many street corners and at many gasoline stations.

McLane Company pursued a plan of rapid expansion beyond Texas beginning in 1976 under the leadership of Drayton McLane, Jr., the third generation of family leadership. By 1990, the company had established a presence that was fully nationwide in scope.

In December 1990, Drayton McLane sold McLane Company to Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. for 10.4 million shares of Wal-Mart stock and an undisclosed amount of cash.^[2]

McLane Company entered the foodservice business in December 2000, when it acquired certain assets from AmeriServe Food Distribution to create McLane Foodservice.^[3]

In May 2003, Berkshire Hathaway acquired McLane Company from Wal-Mart for $1.45 billion.^[4]

In 2008 McLane opened its 20th grocery distribution center in Jessup, Pennsylvania and 18th foodservice distribution center in Manassas, Virginia.^[5]

Customers

Some prominent retail chains that receive one or more product categories from McLane are Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Circle K, WaWa, 7-Eleven, ExxonMobil,^[6] Target Stores,^[7] and Love's.

Among the national restaurant chains supplied by McLane Foodservice are the Yum! Brands family of concepts: Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, Long John Silvers, and A&W Restaurants.^[8]

Specialty divisions and companies

McLane Company owns the following specialty divisions and subsidiary companies:

• McLane Foodservice, Inc. is a leading supplier of food and foodservice items to restaurants throughout the US, serving more than 20,000 customers.
• Salado Sales develops and markets private label products to McLane’s convenience store customers. Its lines include various health and beauty care items, film and flash products, light bulbs, motor oil and work gloves.
• Professional Datasolutions, Inc. is a leading provider of software and services to the convenience and petroleum industries.
• C.D. Hartnett, Inc. is a full-line grocery wholesaler based in Weatherford, Texas. C.D. Hartnett supplies food service accounts, convenience stores, and independent grocers in Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. McLane Company acquired C.D. Hartnett in 2004.^[9]
• McCarty-Hull, Inc. is a full-line grocery wholesaler based in Amarillo, Texas. McLane acquired McCarty-Hull in 2006.^[10]
• Empire Distributers is a wholesale alcoholic beverage distributor in the Southeast US. In 2010, McLane Company purchased Empire.

References

1. ^ "An irreplaceable oracle"". Toronto Star, March 4, 2007. Retrieved June 13, 2007.
2. ^ "Astros sale: Changing of the guard" Houston Chronicle, July 5, 1992.
3. ^ "Tricon pleased by McLane purchase of AmeriServe "". QSR Magazine, December 5, 2000. Retrieved June 13, 2007.
4. ^ "Wal-Mart agrees to sell food supplier " New York Times, May 3, 2003.
5. ^ http://www.expansionmanagement.com/Industryspotlights/Distribution_Centers/18615 "McLane Company to Build 400,000-square-foot (37,000 m²) Grocery Distribution Center in Jessup, Pennsylvania"]. Expansion Management, April 27, 2007. Retrieved June 13, 2007.
6. ^ " Wal-Mart agrees to sell food supplier" "New York Times, May 3, 2003.
7. ^ "Grocery distributor starts new center in Lackawanna County" "The Associated Press State & Local Wire", April 13, 2007.
8. ^ "Tricon pleased by McLane purchase of AmeriServe "". QSR Magazine, December 5, 2000. Retrieved June 13, 2007.
9. ^ "McLane buys McCarty-Hull" "Amarillo Daily News, March 30, 2006.
10. ^ "McLane buys McCarty-Hull " "Amarillo Daily News, March 30, 2006.

See also