 At that point his stock was valued at $21.1 million and Joseph W. Luter III's at $30 million.Joseph W. Luter III began his expansion of Smithfield in 1981 with the purchase of its main competitor, Gwaltney of Smithfield, for $42 million.This was followed by the acquisition of almost 40 companies in the pork, beef, and livestock industries between 1981 and around 2008, including Esskay Meats/Schluderberg-Kurdle in Baltimore, Valley Dale in Roanoke, and Patrick Cudahy in Milwaukee in 1984.