DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines meatpacking plant Amend Packing Co. has shuttered, just shy of its 150th anniversary in business. The small family company closed its doors Friday, the Des Moines Register reported . Amend Packing was one of the city’s oldest businesses, having processed beef for farmers and customers in central Iowa since 1869, supporting five generations of the Amend family in Des Moines.

Owners Kent Wiese, 61, and Amy Amend Wiese, 59, said while business has been strong, they’re looking for new challenges. Amend Wiese said it’s an emotional decision to close the plant that her great-grandfather started and where she’s worked for 40 years. The couple’s grown sons also worked at the plant for many years.

Most of the 200 processors in Iowa are small operations, said Ken Richmann, co-executive director of the Iowa Meat Processors Association. The small companies generally consist of a husband and wife, while larger ones employ 15 to 18 people.
“And a good number of them could use help,” he said. “Because of that they are taking on only the business they can (handle).”

Amend Packing found a niche serving small producers across the state. At one time, Amend Packing processed 200 cattle a week, but that dropped to about 15 or 20 a week. Weise told the Register in 2013 that his cutting techniques were honed from years of daily butchering. “What I love is when a customer says, ‘Oh, my gosh! That’s the best steak I ever had,'” he said. “That’s what I love.”