American food giant Tyson Foods will invest $84m to expand its poultry plant in Tennessee, a move that will double its output capabilities and create over 300 jobs.
The expansion project in Union City in Obion County which will begin this fall is aimed to be completed by mid-2019.
It will boost capacity to the Tennessee poultry plant’s existing harvest area besides adding processing lines and provide upgrades to supporting operations at the hatchery, feed mill and transportation.
The project will result in an addition of 25,000ft2 to the existing poultry plant.
Tyson Foods poultry group president Doug Ramsey said: “Customer and consumer demand for protein, especially chicken, is increasing so we’re investing in projects that build on our strengths, expand our capabilities and increase our capacity.
“Expansions like this position us to grow and support our customers.”
Tyson Foods says that to meet the new capacity of the Tennessee poultry plant, it would need 200 more broiler chicken houses to be built inside the next couple of years in northwestern Tennessee.
The poultry plant currently supplies chicken for a national foodservice client.
Tyson Foods employs around 5,000 people in Tennessee and has facilities in Goodlettsville, Shelbyville and Newbern in addition to Union City.
Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam said: “Tyson has been an integral part of Obion County for 20 years and I’m pleased to see the company move forward with this more than 300-job expansion in Union City.
“With more than 1,000 employees in West Tennessee, Tyson’s impact on the community extends to the local farmers supported by its operations.”
Last month, the food processing giant announced an investment of $59m to expand its distribution facility in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. The expansion project will create over hundred jobs and add 164,000ft2 to the existing distribution center which caters to retail and foodservice customers in the Northeast region.
