Johnsonville, LLC, Sheboygan Falls, Wis., formed a joint venture with Frabelle Fishing Corp., based in the Philippines. The joint venture will be called Frabelle Corp. (FBC), and will house both company’s existing meat brands.

This joint venture will focus on the production, distribution and sales of chilled and frozen meats, primarily sausages, tocinos, burgers, tapas, longganisa and hot dogs in the Philippines. The current Frabelle Foods brands, including Premium, Yummy, Bossing, Cheezydog and Pinoy, will continue to be made in Manila and sold through its current sales network, while Johnsonville-brand sausages will now be sold exclusively through Frabelle’s sales and marketing network. FBC manufacturing operation will be fully integrated into the Johnsonville supply chain network.

“We’re honored to be partnering with a respected company such as Frabelle to mutually accelerate our growth in this expanding region of Asia,” says Michael Stayer-Suprick, president of the company’s international division. “This joint venture helps Johnsonville expand its growth in the Southeast Asia market, provides a distribution and manufacturing platform to expand our product reach in Philippines and provides both Frabelle and Johnsonville employees with opportunities to share learnings as a group of meat-industry professionals.”

“We were seeking an industry leader we could associate with that would allow us to share technical, marketing and product innovation resources that will improve our competitive position and help business growth,” says Fay Bernardo, president of Frabelle.

Frabelle and her brother Francis Jr. Tiu-Laurel will remain involved in the company, providing oversight and strategic leadership as board members. Johnsonville will assume day-to-day management of the venture.