Since our earliest days as a company, the entrepreneurial spirit of our founders has kept us looking toward the future. We have always kept our focus on serving our customers wherever they may be. This commitment to customer service, along with visionary leadership, has made us the global company we are today.
In the 1920s, Griffith Laboratories began importing Prague Salt, a compound used in Germany for quick-curing meats. In 1927, Griffith established its first company outside the United States, opening a Canadian facility in Toronto.
By the 1950s, the growth of Griffith Canada led to the establishment of spice extraction plants in both Canada and the United States. Griffith Canada also introduced breadings and batters to the Canadian food industry, which set the standard for Canada's huge fish industry. Griffith Laboratories Mexican company was incorporated in 1954.
In the 1960s, Dean Griffith, C.L.'s son, predicted that markets around the world would soon mirror the market in the United States. He also foresaw that international customers would prefer to purchase products locally rather then buy them from Griffith's export department. In response, Dean Griffith opened the company's first European plant in Bleiswijk, Holland, and Griffith's global growth was on.
The 1970s saw continued global expansion. Griffith established companies in the United Kingdom, Australia, Belgium, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Japan, Thailand, the Philippines and Colombia.
During the 1980s, the sale of liquid products began in Mexico, Central America, the Pacific Rim and the United Kingdom.
The 1990s saw further developments on the food frontier, including the completion of Griffith's state-of-the-art Culinary Center at its Alsip, Illinois, headquarters. Griffith also doubled its capital spending during this decade to modernize plants and prepare for the company's new global strategies. In the early nineties, Griffith opened a new facility in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and acquired Custom Food Products. The United Kingdom breading plant was doubled in size in 1993 to increase flexibility and product range. In 1996, Griffith formed a company in Seoul, Korea.
The company continues to expand globally in the 21st Century. In 2000, Griffith formed a joint venture in Thailand. And we are not finished; we will continue to go where our customers need us and we will always use our knowledge and creativity to build the foods consumers love.