Enhancing Operational Predictability and Reducing Lead Times at Cooper Farms (St. Henry, OH)
Category: Consultation Services and Machine Maintenance
Case Study – Cooper Farms
About Cooper Farms
Cooper Farms is a fourth-generation, family-owned food and agriculture company based in Ohio that specializes in the vertically integrated production of turkey, pork, and egg products. As a leading North American supplier, they manage the entire process from animal hatcheries and feed production to the manufacturing of retail-ready deli meats and private-label food products. Driven by a commitment to quality and efficiency, their team works around the clock to meet tight production quotas from their state-of-the-art facilities in St. Henry, Ohio.
Learn more about Cooper Farms: https://cooperfarms.com/
The Challenge
In high-volume food processing, keeping critical machinery up and running is essential to meeting strict client timelines. The maintenance team at Cooper Farms was growing increasingly frustrated with their existing vendor due to a severe lack of proactiveness and unacceptably long wait times on critical OEM stock parts like rollers. Lead times on these staple components frequently ranged anywhere from six weeks to six months.
This supply chain bottleneck introduced severe operational risks. In one critical instance, an essential processing machine was forced offline for nearly two weeks due to missing replacement parts. Such extensive, unpredictable lead times made accurate inventory management nearly impossible. To compensate for the sudden drops in output during equipment downtime, Cooper Farms had to repeatedly pay extensive overtime to their team to make up for lost time. In a competitive, fast-moving market, this lost time can quickly become the definitive factor between meeting a production quota and falling costly paces behind.
The Partnership
DeLong’s Gizzard Equipment and Cooper Farms share a deeply rooted history, having done business with one another for well over 30 years. Over the course of this multi-decade partnership, Cooper Farms has integrated several of DeLong’s top-tier, industry-proven machines into their lines—including the DeLong’s Gut Stripper and Multi-Purpose Skinner (MPS).
Beyond merely supplying equipment, DeLong’s has regularly sent technical teams to work directly on-site with Cooper Farms to provide specialized operational training and consulting. By carefully mapping out processing lines, DeLong’s has helped identify and resolve bottleneck “dead points,” significantly improving the overall product flow. When the severe roller shortage from the OEM vendor threatened Cooper Farms’ operations, they knew they could turn to DeLong’s as a trusted strategic partner to solve the crisis.
Learn more about DeLong’s Consulting Services: https://delongs.com/consulting/
The Solution
To eliminate the delays, DeLong’s team stepped in and collaborated directly with Cooper Farms’ maintenance department to thoroughly audit their real-time needs. They analyzed exactly which parts were failing, how frequently they needed replacement, when orders should be triggered, and the ideal quantities to keep on hand.
Leveraging over 50 years of poultry and meat processing experience, DeLong’s designed a highly structured, predictable restocking plan customized for Cooper Farms. DeLong’s took over the production and supply of the facility’s most vital components, predominantly their neck and scapula skinning rollers. By assigning a dedicated Account Manager to the partnership, DeLong’s established a single, streamlined point of purchase for all of Cooper Farms’ roller and spare part needs, backed by routine check-ins to monitor inventory health before shortages ever occur.
To learn more about the early signs of roller wear, check out DeLong’s Poultry Peeling Rollers Maintenance Checklist.
The Results
The collaboration yielded immediate operational improvements. Now, the Cooper Farms maintenance manager enjoys a vastly simplified procurement process, easily securing the high-precision skinning rollers and spare parts required to keep production lines humming.
The integration of DeLong’s managed supply solution achieved several critical milestones:
- Over 60% Reduction in Wait Times: The frustrating multi-month lead times were effectively eliminated, leaving virtually zero lead time for essential rollers.
- Streamlined Ordering: The maintenance department successfully transitioned from managing fragmented vendor issues to a single, highly reliable purchase point.
- Enhanced Customer Support: Ongoing account management and proactive communication have eliminated the stress of inventory guesswork, providing a massive increase in day-to-day customer service quality.
- Eliminated Unnecessary Overtime: By wiping out unexpected machine downtime, the plant can maintain steady output and safeguard their bottom line.
In 2024, Cooper Farms’ processing plants received an AA+ mark on their annual audits for quality. In early 2026, they acquired a former JES plant in Celina, OH, further expanding their footprint in the state.
Cooper Farms relationship with Delong’s goes well beyond them simply supplying equipment and parts to us. We share similar family-owned business cultures, and they bring value-added solutions to the poultry processing world. Their equipment is top notch, but their customer service is even better. Cooper Farms strives to be a world class food processor and our partnership with Delong’s enhances this goal.
Looking Ahead
With a structured, predictive solution firmly in place, the Cooper Farms team is fully prepared to close out 2026 with maximum operational efficiency. Backed by DeLong’s responsive account management and elite customer service, the threat of debilitating lead times has been replaced with total supply predictability. DeLong’s is proud to continue supporting Cooper Farms’ multi-generational legacy, ensuring their processing facilities have the seamless reliability required to scale production for years to come.
About DeLong’s Gizzard Equipment
DeLong’s Gizzard Equipment was founded in 1967 and is the leading global manufacturer of poultry processing equipment, specializing in precision-engineered rollers and solutions for poultry and gizzard processing. Known for their industry expertise, DeLong’s products meet or exceed industry standards for all major brands of processing equipment, making them the trusted choice in gizzard and poultry production.
Learn more about DeLong’s: https://delongs.com/