Commitment to family and community won Carl Buddig and Company honors at the Family Business of the Year Awards program hosted by The Family Business Center at Loyola University Chicago’s Quinlan School of Business.
The Homewood-based company received the Dean’s Award at the 24th annual event on Nov. 16 in Chicago. It was one of six businesses selected for special recognition because of its exceptional commitment to family and family business.
The judging panel selected Buddig for its positive family and business linkage, its multigenerational family business involvement that is now in its fourth generation, contributions to industry and community and innovative business practices and strategies.
“Family businesses like Carl Buddig and Company that achieve tremendous success and growth while still remaining true to the essence of family business are the quiet heroes of our economy and our communities,” said Anne Smart, director of The Family Business Center at Loyola. “We recognize Buddig’s efforts and congratulate them for 75 years of a job well done.”
Carl Buddig began distributing meats throughout Chicago in 1943. He and his family have worked with meat packers and retailers developing strong relationships with their business partners and employees. Today the company employs nearly 2,000 people.
“We consider our employees, sales associates, customers and the community to be an extension of our Buddig family,” said CEO Bob Buddig. “We are honored to receive an award that recognizes our commitment to family, and we will continue to pass down the values that have served us well as a family and a business for generations to come.”
Carl Buddig and Company collaborates to bring high quality lunchmeat, sausage and ready-to-eat meals to consumers nationally through various channels from grocery to food service and convenience stores.
The company and its employees regularly volunteer with organizations through the Cancer Walk, local food drives and volunteer days. Most recently, Carl Buddig and Company donated 250,000 pounds of meat to the Greater Chicago Food Depository and coordinated multiple volunteer days on site to package the meat for distribution.