Christopher Paul Salm was born in Appleton, Wisconsin to a farm family as the 8^th of 12 children.  His parents raised their children to value hard work and inventiveness.  Chris’ early years included milking morning and night, planting, cultivating, roadside farm stands and countless 4-H projects.

Following his graduation from West De Pere High School, Chris enrolled at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.  As a sophomore, he transferred to University of Wisconsin-Madison and declared a meat and animal science major after stating he’d rather make sausage from dairy cows than milk them.  His career in meat science commenced.

His time at UW-Madison was fruitful with plenty of opportunities for personal and professional growth, most caused by mentors Professors Kauffman, Cassens, Marsh, Greaser, Buege, Grummer, Wieckert, Jorgenson, Benevenga, First and more.  Chris held several leadership positions in the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity, was the chancellor of Alpha Zeta honorary fraternity and held service roles in many college groups.  He had many part-time jobs during his college tenure including preparing cattle for sale, harvesting tobacco, shearing sheep, railroad section hand, kitchen crew and a full-time role at a farrow to finish hog operation in his senior year.  His strong work ethic was and is one of his outstanding qualities.

During his time at UW-Madison, Chris met Susan, the person that would brighten his life forever.

After graduation, Chris took a job with the Production Credit Association where he quickly honed his skills in credit analysis, finance and business management, all skills that would be valuable in his future endeavors.

Indiana’s Purdue University was his choice for graduate study where he worked under Dr. Max Judge with Dr. Elton Aberle and Dr. John Forrest as mentors.  He completed his M.S. with a thesis on energy utilization and the benefits of skinning versus scalding in pork slaughter.  His Ph.D. in muscle biology and bioengineering was completed in 1981 with a dissertation on beef carcass electrical stimulation and its implications for meat quality and tenderness.  While at Purdue, Chris actively mentored students as coach of the meat judging team and instructor of courses in the Food Technology curriculum.  Chris and his fellow grad students enjoyed spending their free time perfecting their bratwurst and summer sausage recipes which drew a large fan base.

With Ph.D. in hand, Chris chose industry over academia and took a role as research scientist at Oscar Mayer, thanks to Dr. Larry Borchert.  There, he studied and mastered the early iterations of coextrusion technology, designed the first prototype of Lunchables and developed an expedited process for pickling Claussen pickles.  He was chosen to represent Oscar Mayer at an international convention to share his approach to innovation and quality management.

When the opportunity to lead research and product development was offered at the then “up and coming” Johnsonville Sausage Company, Chris accepted the challenge.  In this role, Chris developed the six-link collagen casing smoked sausage line and the beer brat, staples in Johnsonville’s portfolio.  It was here that Chris gained valuable experience mentoring team members to personal growth and development.

In 1989, Chris joined Swift-Eckrich, later owned by ConAgra, where he spent fourteen years performing a wide range of roles in technical services, brand management and finishing as VP of Research and Development.  This stint helped Chris to develop a keen understanding of the meat industry, its challenges and its promising future.  Chris was quick to recognize new technologies that were being under-utilized and those which had great potential for serving customers more efficiently with superior food quality and safety.  In 2000, Chris was recognized by the American Meat Institute with the Industry Advancement Award for his work with the nitrite safety committee, which was chaired by Dr. Andy Milkowski.

Fulfilling a life-long dream, Chris stepped out of the large corporation in 2003 to start his own business using food processing technologies from Europe which were not yet proven in the United States.  Gathering their resources, Chris and three of his brothers (Joe, Pete and Mark) founded Salm Partners in 2004 with a novel co-extrusion technology that utilizes a cook-in-package process which yields a product with exceptional quality and shelf life, free of microbiological contamination.  Salm Partners built their plant and installed their equipment before securing a customer but quickly sold out their entire capacity.  The company has since expanded multiple times, and in 2022, employs over 600 partners who produce 15-20% of all the pre-cooked sausage sold in the U.S.  Salm Partners has become a preferred and reliable co-packer of sausage for brand marketers.

A key to the success of Salm Partners is the intentional mission of the company “to provide an avenue of growth for its partners.”  Salm Partners considers its “partners” to be all its ingredient and equipment suppliers, its customers, its workforce and its community.  All the benefits of the technology go to the brand marketers within the context of a well-run business.  Respect, trust, credibility, transparency, collaboration and celebration are key values in the Salm model.  As former President & CEO and now Board member, Chris has built a team of reliable partners and leaders to grow the business while maintaining the core convictions.

While growing the Salm Partners’ business, Chris’ commitment to the meat industry, particularly the industry in Wisconsin, was evident in his work for the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  In 2009, Chris assumed the chairmanship of the committee charged with making recommendations for the fate and future of the UW Meat Science program and its support of the state’s meat processors.  Chris’ leadership led to an expanded vision for the program which now includes an animal biologics division that will make UW-Madison the go-to university for research in whole animal utilization, molecular fractionation and identification of bio-functional elements.  Chris championed this initiative whenever and wherever he could.  His efforts and those of the very capable committee were invaluable in bringing this dream to fruition.  Chris continues to serve in many capacities on the UW campus and in 2016 was recognized with UW-Madison’s Entrepreneurial Achievement Award.

The relationships Chris made on campus led him to his next venture in 2015:  the founding and leadership of Ab E Discovery, a new venture designed to aid university scientists in the commercialization of their discoveries and inventions that are focused on animal agriculture and human health.  With his co-founders, Dr. Mark Cook and Dr. Jordan Sand, it was determined that Ab E Discovery’s goal and promise is “to use our gifts and talents, our knowledge and experience to serve others.”  To date, Ab E Discovery has spawned three more businesses: Ab E Manufacturing, Ovation Foods and CoVigilance.  Chris is a seasoned entrepreneur and risk taker who displays practical intelligence, decisiveness and confidence in uncertain times.

The first recipient of the Salm-Bray Distinguished Chair, established by Chris and his wife, Susan in 2020 has recently been announced.  This Chair is designed to encourage collaboration among university scientists who have the gifts and talents, knowledge and experience to discover, identify and develop novel bio-functional compounds to improve human or animal health.  This award was created to support cross discipline research for many, many years to come.

Chris has been happily married to his ever-cheerful wife, Susan, for 46 years.  Thanks to their three children: Christopher, Anne and Eric and their spouses: Jenna, Chris and Lauren, they enjoy seven delightful grandchildren.  Chris and Susan currently live in Plymouth, Wisconsin on lovely acreage that boasts a healthy forest, an 80-foot-deep lake and a productive garden.  Chris is devoted to following God’s will through his Christian faith and keeps his balance and optimism by teaching and practicing it.

Christopher P. Salm has been selected for induction into the Wisconsin Meat Industry Hall of Fame because he has demonstrated a lifelong passion for the meat industry and those who work in it.  His entrepreneurial spirit led to the establishment of Salm Partners, Ab E Discovery and Ovation Foods as leading-edge businesses in the food and animal agriculture arena.  By using his gifts and talents, knowledge and experience to serve others, Chris has greatly benefited the industry, the citizens and the economy of Wisconsin.