In 1924, the "Charqueada Minerva" was founded in Barretos, São Paulo, by Antonio de Pádua Diniz. Diniz died the following year. In 1926, just two years after its founding, the company encountered financial problems and was put up for
auction. It was subsequently acquired by Antonio Manço Bernardes in partnership with Américo Grilli. In 1949, after a reform that expanded the slaughter capacity to 300 heads per day, the company was named "Matadouro Industrial Minerva" (Minerva Industrial Slaughterhouse). In 1971, the company was renamed "Frigorífico Minerva" (Minerva Slaughterhouse). During the 1980s, the company faced financial difficulties and went bankrupt. In 1992, the bankrupt estate of Frigorífico Minerva was acquired by the Vilela de Queiroz family, well known in the livestock transportation sector, establishing the Indústria e Comércio de Carnes Minerva Ltda. In 1999, Minerva leased and acquired a slaughtering and processing unit in
José Bonifácio, São Paulo. In 2001, it leased another slaughtering and processing unit in
Cajamar, São Paulo. In 2004, the company built and inaugurated a new and modern slaughter and processing unit in Palmeiras de Goiás,
Goiás. In 2006, Minerva leased a slaughter and processing unit in Batayporã,
Mato Grosso do Sul. In 2007, Minerva began construction in Barretos, São Paulo, of an industrial unit for producing cooked and frozen meat in a joint venture with the
Irish company Dawn Farms. That same year, it started the construction of a new unit in Rolim de Moura,
Rondônia, and acquired industrial units in
Araguaína,
Tocantins, and
Redenção, Pará. In 2008, it acquired the Lord Meat slaughterhouse in Goianésia, Goiás, for approximately R$60 million. In 2009, the production plant for cooked and frozen meat was opened, establishing the first Minerva Dawn Farms unit, a joint venture between Minerva and Dawn Farms Foods. The 15,400-square-meter factory can produce up to 15 tons of processed meat per hour. The factory was built next to the headquarters of Frigorífico Minerva in Barretos, São Paulo. == Controversies ==