Meat+Poultry - April 2023 - 75

company documents and computers from
the offices before the fire engulfed them.
LABOR OF LOVE
When Hamm and Mauer set out to build their
seventh addition, they were required by the
state to include a fire wall. Mauer noted that
he originally complained about the fire wall
due to its size, cost and look, but now he
is thankful for the state's insistence on the
wall. It kept the fire from consuming the new
addition so the owners only had to clear out
the smoke that billowed into the space.
With the seventh addition, Wisconsin
River Meats had grown from its original
1,600 square feet to 8,000 square feet. The
current owners purchased the land - a
cornfield - in 1991 from Hamm's family
who mainly used the space for local
deer processing. Hamm and Mauer set
out to continue the work of the previous
owners, beginning with deer processing
from a garage, while they built the original
Wisconsin River Meats building.
Over their three decade-long partnership,
the owners have expanded the business
to include custom game processing,
wholesale meats, catering, and in-store and
online retail.
Before the fire, the business had grown
to employ 40 team members. Many of those
had to be layed off after the devastating fire
destroyed all but the new part of the plant.
" We're like a family here with the
employees, " Hamm said. " The fire was super,
super stressful on the employees. It was
almost as stressful on them as it was on us. "
Mauer added, " A lot of people that we
employ have worked here for a long time, so
watching everything they had worked hard
for too, going up in flames, there were a lot
of tears. "
Wisconsin River Meats has hired most
employees back since the layoffs, now
totaling just over 30 workers.
PROCESSOR AID
Down hands and resources, Wisconsin River
Meats relied on the owners' resourcefulness
and the goodwill of the surrounding
processor community.
" Immediately after the fire, we started
working with several other processors. We
purchased product from other people, so we
were able to keep our sales routes going, "
Hamm said.
The same day of the fire, after Hamm, the
fire chief and an employee chased the pigs
out of the burning building, they sent the
animals to nearby Crescent Meats, Cadott,
Wis., to be butchered. Other processors
reached out to offer their services, including
Brock's Butcher Block, Sparta, Wis., and J&S
Meats, Marshfield, Wis.
In addition to sending meat to area
processors, Wisconsin River Meats
borrowed equipment so it could process its
own meat at its warehouse. The company
expressed thanks to Handtmann Inc., Lake
Forest, Ill., for loaning them a machine and
to Pro Smoker 'N Roaster, Iron Ridge, Wis.,
for building them two additional smokers.
The company's contractors were able to
speed up the process for the new sausage
kitchen that was part of Wisconsin River
Meats' expansion plan pre-fire.
The company made the first batch of
venison sausage on March 16, 2022, and
received approval for inspection 10 days
later. Thanks to the new sausage kitchen
along with the help of processors and
suppliers, Wisconsin River Meats reached
full production on the sausage line by
mid-July.
(Left) A fire on Feb. 3, 2022,
burned down Wisconsin
River Meats, but its newest
building addition and
warehouse were spared.
(Right) The processor held
an open house at the new
store and plant about
a year after the fire.
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