Aberdeen family business celebrates 80 years
ABERDEEN, Miss. (WCBI) – Decades ago, on April 1, the Comers started their family business.
Jimmy Comer was only a year old when his father Gorden Comer founded Comer Packing Company in April 1946.
“He started with a frozen food locker. And over the years, it just evolved into a processing plant and a manufacturing plant,” said Jimmy Comer, said Vice President of Comer Packing Company.
The family business as now been in Aberdeen for 80 years.
Comer, family, and friends celebrated the company’s birthday on Wednesday, April 1.
“It’s remarkable. You know not many businesses last 80 years, and we’ve been lucky and I guess somewhat resourceful. And we’re just happy to be here,” said Jimmy Comer.
“It is exciting. When my grandad retired years ago … I always had dreamed coming to work here, learning a lot from him and my father. It has been exciting. (We’ve) seen a lot of changes over the years,” said Ray Comer, President of Comer Packing Company, Inc.
In the early days, the company did its own slaughtering.
However, several years ago, it shifted to being a wholesale food supplier.
“Now after 80 years, we’re a full-line grocery store and fast food and convenient store supplier. With food products from poultry to biscuits, we sell just about anything a store would use,” said Jimmy Comer.
And Jimmy’s son, Ray Comer, is following in his father and grandfather’s footsteps.
He has worked for the company since 1998 and is now the president.
“I’ve been blessed to have a good family and a good teacher. My father and my grandfather taught me a lot of business,” said Ray Comer.
And to those businesses in it for the long haul, Ray shared some advice:
“If you don’t adapt and make changes to the times that are in front of you, you’re just going to be stagnant. So, we’ve learned to always be on top of the economy … and the whatever is thrown at us,” said Ray Comer.
Comer Packing Company serves business in a 125-mile radius
The Comers said they are grateful for their employees and customers who help keep the business running.
Comer Packing Company has been at its current location for the last 50 years.
