Our Timeline
The Sechler Family
5 Generations Strong
5th generation family owned and operated, the Sechlers have been transforming the way poultry is produced in America.
Margo Sechler
Margo Sechler started in the family business, helping raise chickens on the family farm. “Growing up,” she recalls, “most of my friends were from farm families, so it seemed normal for me to be involved in agriculture.”
Scott Sechler, Sr
Scott Sechler Sr. grew up helping his dad with the chickens on the family farm. At seven years old, Scott started raising his own flocks—and questioning the process at each step. His passion continues to shape the way chickens are raised today.
Scott Sechler, Jr
Buddy is passionate about upholding his father’s tireless commitment to quality. “It’s all about seeing people enjoy our products,” he says. “And when eating a great meal can be considered research, that automatically means you have a great job.”
Where it Began
The History of Bell & Evans
Food conscious families and chefs began choosing Bell & Evans poultry in 1894. That makes us America’s oldest branded poultry company. When you experience The Excellent Chicken, we think you’ll agree that we’ve used our time well.
1894
Howard H. Bell of Bellmawr, NJ starts a poultry business on his family’s farm
1910
Bell expands his poultry business by partnering with another local farmer, Cartlon Evans, forming “Bell & Evans”
1926
Bell & Evans opens its first poultry plant in Camden, NJ
1927
Bell & Evans is officially incorporated
1958
C.F. Manbeck, Inc/Farmers Pride began private labeling Bell & Evans poultry to Bell & Evans’ stringent specifications
1984
Clarence Manbeck (right) retired and sold his company to Scott Sechler (left)
1985
Sechler started requiring cement floors and disinfecting and cleaning the chicken houses between each flock.
1986
Sechler (left) purchased the Bell & Evans brand from the Bell family and merged it with Farmers Pride.
1998
Bell & Evans introduced an all natural feed and started raising birds without antibiotics.
2000
Bell & Evans completed its $10 million plant expansion, doubling the size of the facility. This brought its total number of employees to over 700 and total farm families to over 90.
2001
Bell & Evans introduced chicken nuggets.
2005
Bell & Evans Retail Outlet opened for business in Fredericksburg, Pennsylvania.
2005
Bell & Evans launched gluten free nuggets and gluten free tenders.
2005
Bell & Evans opened its $26 million state-of-the-art 100% Air Chilling facility.
2009
Bell & Evans launched its organic line of products.
2010
Bell & Evans introduced innovative freezer-safe recyclable packaging, made with #1 PETE recyclable materials.
2011
Bell & Evans introduced Slow Induction Anesthesia (SIA) and the Bell & Evans Humane Animal Welfare standard, which garnered praise from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and Temple Grandin.
2015
Bell & Evans opened a $110 million, 160,000 square-foot Further Processing, Packaging and Par Frying Facility.
2016
Bell & Evans launched a premium line of ready-to-cook, gluten free, organic items.
2017
In July, Bell & Evans opened the world’s first Organic Certified, Animal Welfare-Focused Chicken Hatchery.
2017
In November 2017, we had the first hatch of our New Breed, Das Klassenbester, higher-welfare chickens.
2021
In December 2021, we opened our brand new Organic-Certified Chicken Harvesting Facility.
2025
Packaging Refresh with Bell & Evans’ Ultra Premium philosophy
2026
We expanded operations at our Hatchery, Harvesting, and Further Processing & Packaging Facilities. We also broke ground on a Distribution Center and a Transportation Center.
Tour Our Hatchery
We believe chickens need a healthy start. That’s why we built the world’s first Organic Certified Superior Animal Welfare Chicken Hatchery.
Inside the Farms
We pioneered the highest set of superior animal welfare standards in the industry and realized there was room for improvement in our breed.
