GW was founded in 1980 by Robert (Bob) Carruthers. It was initially simply a commodities trading company with an office in Littleton CO. Jerry Ryan joined the company in January of 1985 and soon became a partner with Bob, sharing 60/40 ownership. Doug Haycock joined the company in September 1989.  In 1993, Doug and another employee named Karen Ruffin bought out Bob and the ownership then looked as follows:  Jerry 40%, Doug 40% and Karen 20%.
 
In July 2007 Jerry and Doug each bought 10% of Karen’s 20% share making them 50/50 partners.
 
In 2008, a company called Teeuwissen, a commodities trading and meat processing company based out of the Netherlands, bought 50% of the company, whereby Jerry and Doug then became 25% owners each. 

In 2008 Great West also bought their first cold storage, York Cold Storage, located in York, Nebraska. 
 
The next big event was in early 2017 when Great West started Falls City Foods in Falls City, Nebraska. Great West bought the building and created the company from the ground up as a cold storage and meat processing company as well. 
 
Great West Kansas, another freezer plant and meat processing facility was created in 2020 in Garden City, Kansas. Great West also leases a portion of the Americold (also a freezer storage) facility in Garden City. 

Teeuwisen, which was in the interim bought out by VanHessen (a branch of Saria), bought the other 50% of the shares owned by Jerry and Doug on January 1, 2018.  Jerry retired approximately a year later and Doug retired on December 31, 2023.
 
On January 1, 2024 Great West was transferred from VanHessen to a different branch of Saria called Sinova. Great West continues to grow and expand in the pet food industry, pharmaceuticals, and freezer storage and is excited for the future with Mark Young as the managing director under Sinova.