| Ralston Purina | Checkerboard Square, St. Louis, MO 63164-0001 |
| www.ralston.com | (314) 982-1000 Fax: (314) 982-2134 |
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Where purity is paramount
Ralston Purina's name represents turn-of-the-century marketing at its best. Originally founded as the Robinson-Danforth Commission Company, this St. Louis animal feed producer took its name from its slogan, "Where Purity is Paramount." Ralston was the name of a prominent health food advocate who endorsed the company's whole wheat grain foods. In Ralston's early history, the company's founder, William Danforth, pioneered several more marketing innovations, such as the company's checkerboard logo and "chow" pet food names (which were based on the slang of WWI soldiers).
Chow down!
Purina Dog Chow, introduced in 1957, quickly became the nation's No. 1 pet food. Yet only a few years later, the company began diversifying with the purchases of Van Camp Seafood (which produces Chicken of the Sea canned tuna) and Jack-in-the-Box hamburger restaurants. In 1984, Ralston bought the nation's largest commercial bakery, Continental, but sold this maker of Wonder Bread and Hostess Twinkies in 1996. That same year, the company also bought Eveready and Energizer battery brands from Union Carbide, though the company spun the number two battery maker off in mid-2000. In 1996, Ralston announced plans to sell off its international animal feeds business, a move that surprised few since its had already purged itself of its domestic feed operations in 1986.
Wanna merge?
In July of 1998 Ralston created a partnership with Veterinary Pet Insurance, Inc., which is the largest and oldest pet health and accident plan for cats and dogs in the United States. Veterinary Pet Insurance was founded in 1980 by disgruntled veterinarians who wanted to provide pet owners with an alternative to euthanasia and suffering due to economic need. The partnership between the two companies rewards owners of insured pets with discounts and other savings. Ralston and Veterinary Pet Insurance believe that these discounts will, in turn, encourage pet owners to better monitor their animals' nutrition, routine, and preventive veterinary care.
In other merger news, in 1998 Ralston joined PersonaLogic, a provider of interactive decision guides for enabling effective e-commerce. The guide PersonaLogic created enables Purina to enhance its brand on the Web; it also helps consumers choose their dogs. One Purina professional remarks, "With so many breeds, personality traits, and sizes, choosing the ideal dog can be a complex decision. PersonaLogic's decision guide for dogs makes this decision easier and matches consumers with breeds that best fit their wants and needs." 1998 also marked the year of an alliance between Ralston and the Heska Corporation, a maker of "companion health products, primarily for dogs, cats, and horses." Under the agreement Ralston will have the exclusive right to license Heska's technology for pets' diets - as long it pays the requisite royalties.
It's all in the genes
In 1999, Ralston announced several initiatives involving the support of companion animal genetics. The company's plans include the creation and subsidization of a Canine Reference Family DNA Distribution Center, as well as the development of a Canine Genome Research Web Site. By taking DNA from selected dog families and disseminating it to various scientists, the distribution center will support the making of a marker map.
Staying pure
After an early 1999 battery slump, which hurt Ralston's overall earnings, the company rebounded with new strategies. Ralston joined iVillage in an e-commerce initiative tailored for women who own pets. After a long research process, the company finally made its new dog litter available to owners of small canines (under 35 pounds). The litter, called Secondnature, is not being marketed through national television commercials, but through dog trainers, vets, and breeders. In June 2000, Ralston aligned with 48 other food, beverage, and consumer product companies to form a global business-to-business electronic marketplace called Transora.com. The venture allows these companies to streamline its business transactions with their suppliers, buyers, and distributors on the Internet. Also occuring in 2000, the acquistion of Australia-based Bonnie Pet Foods and a partnership with Bissell, the vac vendor, should assure that Ralston stays on track as the world's largest producer of dry dog and cat food.
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Job information can be obtained at http://www.ralstonjobs.com/jobs.asp. All resumes received will be scanned into the system. Therefore, the company prefers an electronic version of your resume. Each resume received remains on Ralston's database for one year. If you opt to send your resume by mail, send it to the Ralston Purina Company; Human Resources Department; Pet Products Group; Checkerboard Square; St. Louis, MO 63164-0001. Be warned that there are many rules to sending a tangible resume. See the site for specifications. Make sure that your mailing and/or email includes your name; address; city, state, zip code; email address; and daytime and evening phone.
Ralston Purina Company accepts resumes exclusively for designated positions. While scanning the site for these designated jobs, you can search by Division (which lists the operating businesses of Ralston Purina Company); Location (which lists locations by city and state); Discipline (which groups positions by job categories); or Description (you may type descriptions to search for a position).
Ralston also recruits qualified candidates from the following schools: Arizona State University, Florida A & M University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Iowa State University, St. Ambrose University, Michigan State University, Niagara University, State Univ. of NY - Buffalo, and Miami University. Note: this list may not include all of Ralston's recruitment targets.
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Animal farm
Although workers say the agricultural business, of which Purina Ralston is a part, is "still run by an old-boy network," they add that "Purina is perhaps the most female-friendly company in the industry." The dress code in the company's offices is "office professional," although work in the field and factories is "casual." Work hours, for the most part, remain on the traditional "five-day, nine-to-five schedule," though Ralston representatives say that the business day runs from 8 to 4:30. And hours aren't the only traditional thing around Ralston: "The culture is old!" declares one insider. "There are still a lot of people in upper management who are there because of seniority." She adds, "but maybe that's true of all older companies."
The truth about cats and dogs
"Benefits are great, facilities are great, the employees are great," acknowledges an adjective-deficient insider. As far as diversity, the company "has a mandatory three day diversity class and really pushes the benefits gained from diverse work environments. They're trying real hard, but they are not there yet."
Bone tired
"My own interview was just a few hours one day with a manager and co-workers," reveals an informant. "However, others I know had to go through multiple interviews over a longer period of time. I wasn't asked many technical questions." Another source adds: "Hiring is done through referrals, recruiting, headhunters, whatever. The interview process varies, but normally, you have at least two interviews, the second of which usually takes all day." Interview "stress levels" apparently depend upon the interviewer. One Ralston contact notes, "I felt pretty comfortable with most of the interview, that is, as comfortable as you can be when you know your whole career is hanging in the balance. Some questions were common - like 'What are your short and long term goals?' and 'Why do you think you would be a good fit for Ralston?'" A note of warning: "The wheels move very slowly." In the case of one insider, the company took "about ten weeks from point of first contact to making a job offer."
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Human Resources
Checkerboard Square, 2T1
St. Louis
MO
63464
(314) 982-2962
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Batteries;Pet food
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Church & Dwight;Doane Pet Care Enterprises;Hitachi;Iams;Rayovac;SANYO
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