The company processes and sells fresh and frozen whole chickens, boneless chicken breasts and legs and snacks and entrees for restaurants and food-service companies. In addition to its Butler County operation, Koch also has facilities in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi.

According to Forbes magazine, Park Ridge, Ill.-based Koch in 2006 ranked 274th on the magazine's list of largest private companies. It reported sales of $1.4 billion in 2005 and employed 7,500, according to the magazine.

Established in 1973, the privately held business is owned by Joseph Grendys, a Chicagoan who joined the company full time in 1984 after graduating from Loyola University, according to an article from Crain's Chicago Business. Grendys shifted the company's focus to processing boneless chicken breasts for restaurants and food-service industries at time when boneless chicken was gaining popularity, Crain's Chicago reported. And under his management, Koch continued to expand and morph into a fully integrated processor, with slaughter plants and feed mills in multiple states, Crain's Chicago reported.