Pingel Processing started out as a small business in Red River, but residents in Shawano County and beyond have decided that small is not good enough due to demand.
That prompted the Pingel family to break ground Dec. 11 on an expansion project expected to triple the space of the current business on County Road A, which will allow it to offer expanded selections of food and service. The total expansion is expected to be 8,290 square feet the Pingels hope will turn it into a destination meat market with more retail space, on-site beef harvesting and additional wholesale offerings.
The work is expected to begin in earnest next month, with the building expected to be complete by the end of 2026. The retail side is expected to be completed first, followed by the harvesting and processing spaces along with animal pens.
Dallas Pingel and his wife, Dani, are fourth generation farmers in the Red River area. They said the business grew much more than either of them expected in recent years, so expansion was inevitable if they wanted to keep Pingel Processing strong.
“We just wanted it to be a small family meat market,” Dani Pingel said. “The next thing you know, our shelves are bare, and our orders are piling in. Deer are piled to the sky. It’s just time.”
Dallas Pingel said he feels the current size of the facility has caused the business to neglect some of its potential customers and that having more processing space will allow products to be sent to other businesses around Wisconsin and surrounding states.
“We basically started with deer processing. We did not think the retail would take off,” Dallas Pingel said. “For us, we eventually want to get into shipping, wholesaling.”
He added that being able to harvest beef onsite will make a big difference to cattle farmers. Talking with other meat processors, Dallas Pingel learned that some farmers stopped raising beef because of the two-year backlog many processors have.
“For us, it’s about buying local and staying local, selling local through our service cases, sausage, etc., and supporting the community and the surrounding counties,” he said. “People know that beef is super high right now. I’m trying to cut out one of the company’s middlemen and let’s go right from Pingel back to the consumer, from the farm right to the consumer.”
The Pingels’ five children are part of the business, as well, and Dallas and Dani Pingel hope they will take over the business when the parents decide to hang it up. Dallas Pingel said his two boys both skin deer, and his eldest, Axyl, has gone to UW-River Falls and Fox Valley Technical College to learn more about business. The three girls come in the evenings and make pizzas to sell and more.
“We’re super proud of them,” Dallas Pingel said. “They help whenever we need. There’s a little bickering under the breath, but they know it’s needed, and they’re here to support us.”
Having award-winning products has helped to get the Pingel name further into the world, according to Dani Pingel. Dallas’ dill pickle brat patty entry to the Wisconsin Association of Meat Processors in 2021 earned him third place, and she said that customers were “flying in the door” after that.
“When you can say ‘award winning,’ that’s when it’s awesome,” Dani Pingel said, adding that one of their pizza snacks won an award from the Wisconsin State Fair. “His products are amazing, and I’m just happy to support him in all of the endeavors to share them with more people.”
One other aspect to the retail side is turning the existing silo on the property into a space where burgers and other meats can be cooked and sold directly to customers. Dallas Pingel did not say if it was part of the expansion work being done by Bayland Builders, the contractor for the project, but mentioned he wanted to get it up and running within two years.
“There’s a lot of traffic on this road, especially with UTVs, and I feel a lot of people would like it,” he said.
The need for space is evident by the tractor trailer in front of the business preserving meat because there’s no room in the building itself, according to Dani Pingel.
“It’s not cute, and it needs to go,” she said.
Having the small space is also an issue when it comes to partnering with area bars and restaurants. Dani Pingel said there have been a lot of opportunities she and Dallas have wanted to say yes to, but the space limits have made it impossible.
Saying no constantly is a threat to the future of Pingel Processing, Dani Pingel said. Dallas Pingel added that saying no means the businesses go somewhere else for their meats, and that’s unacceptable.
Adding more space means that the Pingels will be hiring more employees to handle the increase of business, Dallas Pingel said. The facility is state inspected, but the company plans to become federal inspected with the expansion.
Staying on the existing site in Red River was preferable, although the Pingels pondered moving its operation to a space in Gresham. Dani Pingel said it’s possible that, if the planned expansion is not enough to keep up with demand, it might look at that space as a second store.
“There’s a site in Gresham that we were originally thinking about moving to,” Dani Pingel said. “The village of Gresham said that was always on the back burner if we do need to expand and grow out of this spot, even if it was just a wholesale shipping area or something along those lines.”
She added that her sons are definitely looking at sticking with the family business but did not rule out her daughters taking charge, either, so having a second site could be a benefit down the line.
“We have the help, and we have the support,” Dani Pingel said. “As long as that’s there, we’ll continue to grow.”
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
