J&D Meat Company Inc. began its history in the early 70’s as an affiliated company of King-O-Meat. The “J and D” stand for “Jimmy and Deana Maxey” who are the son and the daughter-in-law of Jim Maxey Sr., the founder of King-O-Meat. In 1974 the Maxey family sold J&D Meat Co. to Al Lawson who focused on freezer beef as their primary market, but also sold to retail stores and HRI (Hotels, Restaurants, and Institutional) trade. The company employed 6-8 people and operated out of a 1,500 sq. ft plant in Rolinda, Ca. 8 miles west of Fresno.
In 1980 Al Lawson sold half of the company to Ken Ford. Al and Ken decided to focus their marketing and sales efforts towards the HRI trade, known as the “Foodservice” segment of the industry. The company grew at an extraordinary rate during the 80’s with Ken focusing on sales and Al focusing on production.
In 1986, Ken Ford purchased the other half of the company and led the company into what it is today, a broadline foodservice distributor. By 1990, the company employed 31 people, had 6 trucks, operated out of 2 locations, and competed very strongly against major national FoodService companies. Also during this period the company changed its name to (dba) J&D FoodService.
In 1995, J&D FoodService became the authorized “Nugget” distributor and became a part of the most well known foodservice cooperative in America. J&D still enjoys active membership in this buying group which is now known as Unipro FoodService Distributors. Unipro has over 250 independent distributors across America combining their purchasing power to be able to successfully compete against the large corporate structures. This commitment of growth activated the purchase of a distribution center in South Fresno in late 1995 where J&D FoodService resides today.
In June of 2000 the company went full circle and merged its operations with King-O-Meat Co. The ownership changed to a partnership between the Ford Family and the Maxey Family. The company kept the trade name of J&D FoodService, but closed its Rolinda Processing Plant and started marketing the King-O-Meat Brand name.
In June of 2001, Ken Ford, Jim Maxey and the Board of Directors announced the appointment of Mark Ford as the Company’s 4th President. The company demonstrated its commitment to the future by building an additional 10,000 sq. ft freezer/warehouse in 2001, a modern test kitchen in 2004, and a state of the art USDA production facility in 2005 which allows processing to be at the same location as distribution.
In 2006, King-O-Meat Corporation was sold along with several sister companies to a large national firm. The Directors of J&D FoodService decided to “carve” J&D out of this buy-out and remain independent. J&D FoodService gave birth to “Certified Meat Products” which took over the new processing facility and the production needs of J&D.
Today, J&D FoodService employs more than 50 people who focus on the broadline distribution to more than 1000 foodservice customers in Northern California. Certified Meat Products is a “Center of the Plate” USDA processing company that meets the needs of the foodservice industry through several broadline distributors like J&D.
At J&D FoodsService, employees are valued tremendously. J&D encourages its employees to be successful through hard work and a solid degree of integrity. We believe that dedicated people and a dedicated employer produce an environment that is workable, enjoyable, and profitable.
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Company History 
