2019年猪业大师成功秘诀：全球发展，无中间商，试验场，客户永远是对的……

引言

2019年美国猪业大师名单于2019年5月28日公布了，他们分别为：Wakefield Pork Inc.,（Wakefield猪肉生产商，家庭经营，拥有55000头母猪，每年销售1400000头商品猪）;Scott Dee(斯考特.迪，Pipestone兽医服务中心研究主任)；Hog Slat Inc.,（Hog Slat，全球最大的生猪设备承包商和制造商）;Steve Quick（史蒂夫.奎克，美国动物福利高级顾问）和John Patience(约翰.佩兴斯，美国猪营养专家)。您可以登录www.nationalhogfarmer.com阅读了解所有大师们的相关报道。

本篇将为您分享Hog Slat的全球发展思维、客户经营理念及模式等内容，带您更全面地了解Hog Slat50年以来为契合客户的真正需求都做了哪些举措，Hog Slat员工和家人又是如何支持Hog Slat事业发展的，继续带您走进Hog Slat50年背后的故事！

走向国际，客户第一，员工第二。

Reputation preceded Hog Slat

公司声誉推动豪格斯莱特的国际化

As customers started to move business internationally, the Herrings soon found their construction business was requested outside the U.S.

随着客户开始在国际上拓展业务，赫林家族很快被请求在美国其他的地方建猪场。

"Our reputation to deliver and manufacture a good-quality product resulted in numerous requests from international customers," Tommy says.

“我们提供和生产高质量产品的声誉，赢得了众多国际客户的请求，”Tommy说道。

Today Hog Slat maintains three slat plants in China, three in Mexico, one in Romania, one in Poland and six in the U.S. — as well as three steel manufacturing plants in the U.S. and one in Romania.

如今Hog Slat在中国有三家漏缝板工厂，墨西哥有三家，罗马尼亚有一家，波兰有一家，美国有六家。同时，在美国有三家栏位工厂，罗马尼亚有一家。

"Our international investments serve to spread our risks," Tommy says. "If the U.S. market is down, maybe the Chinese, Russian or Mexican market is up."

“我们的国际投资分散了我们的风险，”Tommy说道。“如果美国市场下跌，也许中国，俄罗斯或者墨西哥的市场会上涨。”

Shopping locally

零售店模式

Around 1998, when there were too many pigs and not enough shackle space, the Herrings realized that a tremendous amount of their income was based on new construction, and they needed to become less dependent on new construction.

大约在1998年，当时市场上猪太多，没有了足够的发展空间。赫林家族意识到他们收入中的大量数额都是来自于新项目建设，他们需要减少对新项目的依赖性。

The Herring family started experimenting in retail sales to provide services and products to existing farms. It was something they had been doing since the early 1980s, but sometimes parts were hard to come by — especially in rural regions.

赫林家族开始尝试零售，为现有的农场提供产品和服务。这是他们从20世纪80年代早期就一直在做的事情，但是有时候很多地方难以实施，尤其是在农村地区。

The Herring family started to focus on retail sales and expanded to 85 stores in the U.S. Each store essentially carries the products needed for any existing pig or poultry farm. Stores are strategically located where there is an appropriate number of pig or poultry farms to support.

赫林家族开始专注于零售店业务并在美国将门店扩张到85家。每家门店基本上都有现有猪场或者鸡场所需的产品。商店的位置具有战略意义，能为足够数量的猪场或者鸡场提供支持。

Since they opened their retail outlets, the Herrings say the feedback has been nothing but positive.

自从他们开设了零售商店以来，赫林家族说他们得到的反馈都是积极的。

TDM Farms

TDM试验场

In addition to Hog Slat, the brothers also run TDM Farms (named for Tommy, David and Mark), an integral part of the family business. In 1983, they bought a 350-sow farm from a customer, and in 1986 added another 500-sow farm. Then, in 1988, the family turned its focus to building a 1,200-sow research farm.

除了Hog Slat公司业务以外，赫林家族的兄弟们还经营着TDM农场（TDM分别取自Tommy,David和Mark首字母），这是家族企业中不可分割的一部分。1983年，他们从一个客户手上买下了一个350头母猪场，1986年时，他们又增加了另一个500头母猪场。然后，到了1988年时，家族把注意力集中在建设一个1200头的母猪试验场。

The research farm enabled the Herrings to test products, ventilation, energy use and various other things. They hired a young college graduate, Mary Ann Martin (now Mary Ann Christensen of Christensen Farms), to be a statistician and to measure results.

试验场帮助赫林家族测试产品、通风，能源利用和其他各种东西。他们雇佣了一个年轻的大学毕业生，Mary Ann Martin(玛丽安马丁)。她现在在Christensen农场负责统计，评估生产业绩。

“We could model a trial on that farm and measure the results,” Tommy says. “We gained a lot of valuable information. It was a working hog farm, and it had to make a profit, and it was part of TDM, but it provided a lot of the knowledge we gained to pass on to our customers.”

“我们可以在农场内测试并评估测量结果,’’Tommy说道。“我们得到了很多有价值的信息。这是一个运营中的猪场，它必须要盈利，它也是TDM试验场的一部分，它给我们提供了很多知识并传达给了我们的客户”

In 1996, they doubled the research farm to 2,500 sows; half of the farm is an environmentally closed facility, the other half is a curtain facility now.

1996年，他们将试验场的规模扩大了一倍，存栏母猪为2500头；本场一半的猪舍是全封闭的，另一半的猪舍现在改为侧墙卷帘式的。

Today, TDM Farms has more than 30,000 sows, and it includes a feed mill and grow-out operation in Indiana.

如今，TDM试验场拥有超过30000头母猪，其中包括印第安纳州的育肥场和一个饲料加工厂。

“As an equipment producer running a pig farm, it gives us insight into what our customers face every day and allows us to make better decisions within both of our companies,” Tommy says. “That has really helped us on the international market as well.”

“作为一家经营养猪场的设备制造商，这让我们了解到客户每天面临的问题，让我们双方公司之间做出更好的决定，”Tommy说道。“同时这对我们在国际市场上的表现也有帮助。”

“By having the production facility, it validates the products we sell to customers. Sometimes the great ideas don’t turn out to be great ideas; but the only way you can truly measure it is statistically — other than that, it is just an idea,” David says. “That has been one of the great assets for Hog Slat as an equipment provider: to be able to measure the products and be innovative and create new products as these opportunities are put before us in our production facilities.”

“通过这些生产设施，使得我们销售给客户的产品得到了验证。有时候设想中的想法并不会成为现实中的想法，唯一真正可以衡量它的就是验证并统计分析—除此以外，它就只能是一个想法。”David说道。“这一直是Hog Slat作为设备生产商巨大的财富之一：当我们的生产设备出现商机时，我们能够测试产品并且能够对产品进行创新和创造新产品。”

Having TDM Farms has also allowed the brothers to showcase new technologies to customers and handle customer requests for tests.

经营TDM农场同时让赫林家族的兄弟们能够为客户展示新技术和处理客户的测试要求。

One of the most successful findings to come out of the research farm was trying a wean-to-finish production model, Tommy says.

Tommy说，实验农场最成功的发现之一就是尝试了断奶到育肥生产模式。

“We thought if we placed weaned pigs in the finishing floor and never moved them, they will grow and perform better,” Tommy says. “We tried it in 1992, and it worked really well; and we started doing that, and now the industry does it on a large scale.”

Tommy说，“我们认为如果我们将断奶猪放至育肥舍饲养并不再转移他们，他们会长得更好，性能更佳。”“我们是1992年进行的测试，而且效果确实很好；自从我们开始那样做以后，整个行业现在都在大规模地这样做。”

Customer always right

客户始终是正确的

Besides operating its own pork production system, Tommy says Hog Slat’s business model is very similar to many pork producers across the U.S. As a fully integrated company, Hog Slat’s staff does all of its own manufacturing, distribution, construction and sales. There are no profit centers in between.

Tommy说，除了运营自己的养殖系统以外，Hog Slat的商业模式跟美国的很多猪肉生产商都非常相似。作为一个完全整合的公司，Hog Slat的员工负责所有自己的制造、分销、建设和销售。我们无中间商。

Hog Slat’s philosophy has also stayed true to Billy’s original business model.

Hog Slat的经营理念也一直忠于Billy最初的商业模式。

“The Hog Slat engineering team is made up of 10 people, whose marching orders or direction is, anything they develop or put in front of the market has to be as good as, or better than, competing products,” Tommy says.

“Hog Slat工程团队由10个核心人员组成，他们的出发点或目标就是，他们开发或投放到市场上的产品都必须和竞争对手的产品一样好，或者更好。”Tommy说道。

It must meet both the pig and the pig farmer’s needs.

它必须同时满足猪和农场主的要求。

“I really think because we grow pigs, pay the bills on pigs every week, and manage labor issues with pigs every week, it gives us a unique ability to understand our customers’ needs and deliver products and services that they truly need,” Tommy says. “Understanding the unique needs of the pig and the pig farmer gives us an unrivaled advantage over our competition.”

“我真的认为，因为我们养猪，每周为猪买单，每周处理与猪有关的劳工问题，它赋予了我们独有的能力来理解我们客户的需求，提供他们真正需要的产品和服务，”Tommy说道。“了解猪和养殖户的独特需求，让我们拥有无与伦比的优势。”

Tommy says he is proud of what his family and employees have achieved, and that the company’s employees and their unwavering dedication are the foundation of Hog Slat’s success.

Tommy说他为他的家人和员工取得的成就感到自豪，并且公司员工和他们坚定不移的奉献精神是Hog Slat成功的基础。

Finally, and most importantly, the family says the company has never wavered from its commitment to its customers.

最后，也是最重要的一点，赫林家族表示，公司对客户的承诺从未动摇。

“This saying may be beat to death, but nowhere is it truer than here. The customer is always right, he’s always going to be right, and we are always going to back up the customer. We’ve made mistakes over the years, but we’ve always, and will always, make them right and fix them,” Tommy says. “Our customers are our first important asset, and our employees are our second important asset — and we look after both of them.”

“说这句话可能会错，但是没有其他话比这句话更真实了。客户始终是正确的，他们也会始终是正确的，我们的任务也始终是去证明客户的选择是正确的。多年以来，我们犯过错误，但我们一直也在纠正错误，改正错误。”Tommy说道。“客户是我们第一重要的资产，员工是我们第二重要的资产—我们要同时照顾好这两者。”

“We’ve always had tip-top customers and employees,” Billy says. “That is one big thing — having great people.”

“我们一直有一流的客户和一流的员工，”Billy说道。“这是一件大事—拥有优秀的人才。”

When Billy Herring (above, with wife Magdalene) and his brothers purchased Newton Grain and Feed, he assumed management responsibilities of the feed mill. Soon after, the family expanded the hog business with a 300-sow, farrow-to-finish farm.

当Billy Herring（以上，和妻子Magdalene）及他的兄弟们收购了Newton Grain and Feed后，他负责饲料厂的管理工作。不久之后，赫林家族扩大了养猪业，拥有了一个300头母猪场及配套育肥场。

Hog Slat family

Hog Slat家族

From highly educated to no formal education, Hog Slat’s staff is a diverse group, but Tommy says he would put them against any Harvard MBA any day.

Hog Slat的员工是一个多元化的群体，从受过高等教育到没有受过正规教育的都有，但Tommy表示，他随时都可以把他们拿出来跟哈佛商学院的任何一位工商管理硕士抗衡。

“I’m just proud of the company, the employees, their effort and ingenuity and their creativeness and stubbornness,” Tommy says. “We have accomplished a lot as a family, but that family includes a lot of employees that have just done an amazing job.” In the last 50 years, they have seen employees stick around 35 to 45 years.

“我只是为公司、为员工们感到骄傲，他们的努力、独创性、创造性和顽强的坚持，”Tommy说道。“作为一个家族企业，我们已经取得了很大的成就，这个家族企业有很多了不起的员工。”在过去的50年里，他们看到有些员工在公司待了有35-45年。

“They refer to it as ‘my company,’ ” Magdalene says.

“他们把Hog Slat称为‘我的公司’”Magdalene说道。

“That is the heart and soul of our company,” Tommy says.

“这就是我们公司的核心和灵魂，”Tommy说道。

Faith, family, friends

信念，家庭，朋友

The 83-year-old founder of Hog Slat spends most of his days now helping out at TDM Farms with son Mark. Looking back over the last 50 years, he says he has no regrets and will be eternally grateful to his friends at North Carolina State University, Murphy Brown, Carroll’s Foods, Prestage Farms, Lundy Packing and Smithfield Foods for their support over the years.

这位83岁的Hog Slat创始人现在大部分时间都和儿子Mark在TDM农场帮忙。回顾过去的50年，他说他不后悔并会永远感谢他在北卡罗来纳州大学、Murphy Brown、Carroll’s Foods、Prestage Farms、Lundy Packing和Smithfield Foods的朋友们多年来的支持。

He’s also thankful for wife Magdalene’s efforts in holding down the family fort.

他同时感谢妻子Magdalene维护家族做出的努力。

“He put all his time and energy into the business,” Magdalene says. “I put my time and main energy into supporting his efforts.”

Magdalene说，“他把所有的时间和精力都投入到了事业上”“而我把我的时间和主要精力放在支持他的工作上。”

Finally, Billy says his faith helped him get to where he is today.

最后，Billy说是他的信念帮助他走到了今天。

“I attribute my success to good employees, hard work, my wife and my family, and most importantly, the Lord,” Billy says. “When I say my Lord, he has guided all my decisions along the way.”

“我把我的成功归结于优秀的员工，努力的工作，我的妻子，我的家庭和最重要的，上帝，”Billy说。“当我说上帝的时候，他一路以来都在指引我的一切。”

最后，在此感谢所有一直关注和支持Hog Slat的业内同仁以及在不同岗位默默无闻辛勤耕耘的Hog Slat同事们，Hog Slat因有你们而自豪！Hog Slat也将会一如既往地坚定“客户第一，员工第二”的服务宗旨，继续服务于全球猪业、中国猪业的发展建设。