Out of the Box

From Rubashkin to Friedman: Agriprocessor Set for New Lease on Life

By Menachem Lubinsky on July 05 2009

Hershey Friedman, a Montreal entrepreneur and philanthropist, is the new owner of Agriprocessor, if a bankruptcy judge gives his approval and if there are no higher bidders till then. In an interview with Mishpacha Magazine, Friedman made some interesting points. He called the government actions against the Rubashkins a “witch hunt.” He spoke of the need to break the monopoly of the current suppliers of glatt kosher meat.

Friedman sounded very much like the Rubashkins when he mentioned the need to make kosher meat accessible to larger number of Jews. He spoke of bringing new life to the town of Postville, which essentially means providing jobs for the many families who live there.

Ironically, the Rubashkins were often accused of keeping prices artificially low, which they argued was to make kosher meat more accessible to the needy and those who might otherwise eat the less expensive “treife” meats. Although Friedman and his group have yet to lay out their business plan for their newly acquired Agri, their model may very well be like the Rubashkins, who like Friedman, were known for their philanthropy.

Speaking of philanthropy, an effort is underway to raise money for the defense fund of Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin who faces multiple immigration and child labor charges. All this while the courts have already handed Rubashkin a victory by separating the various charges against him into different trials.

Rubashkin must be wondering how unlucky he was that President Bush was in power and not President Obama. The latter seems to have shifted from the Bush policy when instead of a raid, it merely sent American Apparel a letter advising them of their obligation to terminate about 1800 illegal immigrants and threatening them with civil penalties, a far cry from the way Rubashkin was treated.

If Rubashkin is ultimately tried and convicted for the immigration violations, he will turn out to be the only employer to be prosecuted for hiring illegals. This brings us full circle back to Friedman, whose reputation as a doer with a big heart precedes him. He will no doubt be able to turn things around in Postville, which will be the best thing to happen to a legacy that went awry.

Out of the Box is a collection of strategic marketing articles that Lubicom has published on various topics, trends and ideas in the marketing world. The articles have been published in the Hamodia weekly newspaper circulated on three continents to a readership of well over 100,000.

The name, "Out of the Box" is a term used frequently in business nowadays to describe creative thinking that is not the norm. It is meant to help a business pull away from the pack or separate oneself from the competition. It is to some extent fraught with risk, simply because it is not the run of the mill thinking, but it is at the same time the key to reaching the next opportunity.