Background
Michael Cudahy was born on December 7, 1841 in Callan, County Kilkenny, Ireland, son of Patrick and Elizabeth Shaw Cudahy, and came to America with his parents in 1849.
(The story of how Michael Cudahy and his friend and partne...)
The story of how Michael Cudahy and his friend and partner Warren Cozzens created Marquette Electronics, one of the miracles of modern business. Distributed for the Milwaukee County Historical Society, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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Michael Cudahy was born on December 7, 1841 in Callan, County Kilkenny, Ireland, son of Patrick and Elizabeth Shaw Cudahy, and came to America with his parents in 1849.
At the age of fourteen left grammar school.
He entered the employ of Layton & Plankinton, meat-packers, in Milwaukee, where he advanced rapidly in the business.
Later he worked for another packer, Edward Roddis, until 1866, when the business was terminated. In 1866, he became private meat inspector for Layton & Company, and three years later superintendent in charge of the packing-house of Plankinton & Armour at Milwaukee.
Later still he became a board of trade inspector in the Milwaukee packing plants and after three years plant superintendent for Plankinton & Armour. His ability was widely recognized, and in 1875 he was offered and accepted a partnership in the firm of Armour & Company of Chicago, assuming control of the company’s plant operations at the Union Stock Yards as general superintendent.
The packing industry had been hitherto a winter season business for the most part. People had eaten cured meats heavily salted, it being necessary to cure the meats in this manner in order to preserve them; and as this had been customary for centuries, no one had thought of eating fresh meat throughout the year.
The process of refrigeration revolutionized the industry so that operations could be carried on continuously throughout the year. It prevented premature decay of perishable products, lengthened the period of consumption and thus greatly increased production, enabled the owner to market his products at will, and made possible transportation in good condition from the point of production to point of consumption, irrespective of distance.
Cudahy’s part in this evolution was that of a captain of industry who understands the significance of a new scientific development and who makes possible its application to commerce. The first step in meeting the new era was provided by stationary refrigeration in the form of cold storage warehouses, or “coolers, ” as a part of every packing plant. In addition, it was realized that refrigeration had to be applied to transportation.
This was accomplished in the middle seventies with the evolution of the refrigerator car now so common in the transportation of all perishable food products. Cudahy’s contribution was mainly on the production side, but he was also one of the leaders in the development of the transportation phase.
In 1887 Philip D. Armour, Michael Cudahy, and his younger brother, Edward A. Cudahy, purchased a small packing plant in South Omaha, Nebraska, and began a new business there under the name of the Armour-Cudahy Packing Company.
There were in Omaha at that time only two small packers, whose business was for the most part confined to the British market, but this was not the best outlet for the rapidly increasing supply of live-stock which was really better adapted to the domestic market.
This was more especially true of hogs. The Cudahy brothers very shrewdly saw the opportunity to be developed in packing for the domestic market.
In this course they were amply justified, and were later able to develop a foreign outlet on a large scale as well.
In 1890 Michael Cudahy sold his interests in the firm of Armour & Company and purchased Armour’s interests in the Armour-Cudahy Packing Company, the name of which was subsequently changed to the Cudahy Packing Company. Michael Cudahy was president of the company from the beginning and continued in that office until his death.
(The story of how Michael Cudahy and his friend and partne...)
He was a Roman Catholic and was widely known for his philanthropic and civic activities.
He was married to Catherine Sullivan of Cedarburg, Wisconsin.
