Hub Meat Packers Co-Founder Joseph ‘Joe’ Rinzler Passes Away At 94
MONCTON – Joseph (Joe) Rinzler, who co-founded what was once Moncton’s largest private sector employer, has passed away in Riverview at the age of 94 on Tuesday. He was a key fixture in Moncton’s business community.
The entrepreneur had started Hub Meat Packers, a meat processing, packaging and distribution company, with his brothers David, Harold and Gordon in 1966. They had just a handful of employees then.
In 2000, Maple Foods acquired the company, including its plants in Moncton and Berwick, Nova Scotia. At the time of the acquisition, the Rinzler brothers had grown Hub Meat Packers to 1,000 staff members. It had a sales of around $270 million a year and their products were sold in eastern Canada, the U.S., the Caribbean, Mexico and Asia.
John Wishart, the CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Moncton, was a reporter when the acquisition happened.
“At the time it was called Moncton’s largest private sector employer. This was after CN had left town, basically … Other than government, Hub was kind of where it was at in terms of being a big player,” said Wishart in an interview with Huddle.
Wishart had only met Joe’s brother David in person, but he said all four brothers loomed large in the business community.
The meatpacking business is a pretty tough business. It’s not for the faint of heart,” said Wishart. “These four brothers really forged a path for close to 50 years that positioned Moncton as one of the hubs of that industry in the east coast certainly.”
Hub Meat Packers closed for good in 2014 when Maple Leaf Foods completed the transfer of production to Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Hamilton.
Beyond his business acumen, Rinzler was also known for his community involvement.
“I know Joe was also very involved in the Jewish community here in Moncton and the Rinzler family is revered as one of the pillars there,” he said. “And Rinzler’s Market is still open on Mountain Rd. I know generations of people who get their meat only at Rinzler’s because it’s a family-owned business and they either know the family or they respect them.”
Rinzler was born in Saskatchewan August 30, 1924, the oldest child of the late Max and Fannie Rinzler. At 15, he moved to New Brunswick. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force at 18 and served during the Second World War.
An obituary on the web page of Fergusons Funeral Home notes his “kind heart and huge personality” – that he loved to laugh as he told jokes and would blurt out the punchline at the beginning of the joke.
There are many tributes to Joe there, including memories from people who did business with him over the years.
Rinzler leaves behind Ruby, his wife of 56 years; his three brothers; his daughters Heather Rinzler-Snitman, Patricia LeBlanc and Valorie Jones; grandchildren and extended family. He was also the father of the late Michael Leger.
The funeral service was held Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Tiferes Israel Synagogue in Moncton, and interment held at the Tiferes Israel Cemetery in Dieppe. Rinzler’s family encourages donations to a memorial of the donor’s choice in his memory and online condolences can be shared through the funeral home’s website.