Blue Bell Creameries

Tyson Foods was established in 1935 with headquarters in Springdale, Ark. The company is one of the world s largest processors and marketers of chicken, beef and pork and is one of the largest food companies in the Fortune 500. The company produces a variety of protein-based and prepared food products, which are marketed under the Powered by Tyson strategy. Tyson is a recognized market leader in the retail and food service markets it serves, providing products and service to customers throughout the United States and more than 80 countries. The company has approximately 114,000 workers employed at more than 300 facilities and offices in the United States and throughout the world, including a location in North Little Rock, Ark.

Founded in 1914, Mountaire Corporation owns and operates the Mountaire Farms chain of vertically integrated poultry processors. The company operates breeder facilities, hatcheries, feed mills and processing plants in North Carolina, Maryland and Delaware. It is based in North Little Rock, Ark.

Riviana Foods is one of the largest processors, marketers and distributors of branded and private-label rice products in the United States. The company s brands include Mahatma, which has been the best-selling brand of rice for more than a decade; Success instant rice; Caronlina, which sells in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states; WaterMaid, which is the best-selling medium-grain rice brand in the South and Southeast; River medium-grain rice; S&W, which sells in the Pacific Northwest; and Gourmet House wild rice. Stevens & Brotherton, Riviana s United Kingdom subsidiary, markets and distributes branded and private-label rice, dried fruit and other food products. Riviana Foods is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ebro Puleva, a leading Spanish food group, which has interests in sugar, dairy and rice products. Based in Houston, Riviana Foods has packaging and distribution facilities throughout the U.S., including Carlisle, Ark.