Carroll Ladd (C.L.) Griffith was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 25, 1893. He graduated from the School of Pharmacy at Northwestern University and served in the United States Army Medical Corps during World War I.
He and his father, Enoch L. Griffith, founded Griffith Laboratories on August 7, 1919. Located in a small storefront on the south side of Chicago, the company sold cooked corn flour to bakers and sausage makers. From the start, however, C.L. was dedicated to developing innovative, quality products that would make foods taste better, be safer to eat and more economical to produce.
C.L.'s commitment to innovation is reflected in the company's growth. In the late 1920s, Griffith opened a Canadian plant in Toronto. By 1946, the company had offices on both coasts: Newark, New Jersey, and Los Angeles, California. In 1954, Griffith opened a facility in Monterrey, Mexico.
During the 1960s, three more plants were constructed in the United States: Lithonia, Georgia; Union City, California; and Remington, Indiana. In 1970, Pacific operations began with the opening of a plant in Melbourne, Australia. In 1973, Griffith started European operations in Herentals, Belgium.
The company C.L. co-founded is responsible for many accomplishments in the food industry. Among these is Prague Powder, an innovative curing compound that was introduced in 1925. C.L. also pioneered the introduction of artery pumping and other equipment for the United States meat processing industry. The Prague Powder Pickle Scale, introduced in 1938, and Griffith's Mince-Master, introduced in 1956, were equally revolutionary for their industries. While Griffith no longer sells or supports meat processing equipment, the Mince-Master is still in use today and can be found in sausage manufacturing facilities across the United States.