Tyson Foods Inc. will be expanding its case-ready meat division in a bid to increase production of consumer ready products.
The Springdale-based company will be reopening an idle Tyson-owned facility in Columbia, South Carolina and converting it into a meat-cutting facility. This South Carolina facility will produce retail ready packaged of sliced beef and pork and ground beef for stores in the eastern United States.
This initial conversion process is projected to cost $42 million with a production start date of May 2021. More investments, such as production equipment, into the facility are expected over the course of three to five years, bringing the total investment to $55 million.
Tyson executives project that the converted facility will employ 330 workers.
“We’re pleased to bring operations back to Columbia and are very grateful for the strong state and local support we’ve received for this project,” Nate Hodne, senior vice president and general manager of the Portioned Protein Innovations team for Tyson Fresh Meats, said in a statement. “Once operational, this new facility will help us meet growing demand from our retail customers with high quality, pre-cut, pre-packaged fresh beef and pork.”
This South Carolina facility will join other case-ready beef and pork plants located in Iowa, Tennessee and Texas. The company also plans to open a case-ready facility in Utah in 2021.
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