Tyson Foods is planning to construct a new chicken processing facility at an investment of $136m, near its existing poultry plant in Green Forest, Arkansas.
The new 200, 000ft2 processing facility will be located across the street from the existing facility.
The project would involve construction of a connecting corridor for facilities, installation of new equipment and production lines, processes and technology for food safety, quality and workplace safety.
Construction on the project is expected to begin in summer and the completion is slated for late 2017.
On completion, the project is expected to create around 85 jobs.
The project is partially conditional on the approval of certain tax abatements from the Carroll County Quorum Court and sales and use of tax credits from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC).
Tyson Foods poultry president Noel White said: "This project would allow us to better serve our foodservice customers through improved product mix and greater efficiencies.
"This is the first new plant construction project Tyson Foods has proposed to build in a number of years and we're hopeful we can partner with Carroll County and the AEDC to invest in our home state."
The existing plant produces a range of partially cooked chicken products for foodservice and retail customers such as nuggets and portioned fillets. The new project is intended to increase the facility's production capacity, boost efficiency by reducing transport time of the products to other locations for further processing.
However, the construction of the new plant will not affect the number of chicken grown for operations in Carroll County, Arkansas.
Image: Tyson Foods' new processing facility to cater to foodservice customers. Photo: Courtesy of amenic181/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
