Smithfield Foods has today announced it will build a new distribution centre and expand its cold storage capabilities at its processing facility in Tar Heel, North Carolina.
The company will invest $100 million and add approximately 250 new jobs to bring both projects to life. In addition to the new positions, additional employment opportunities will also be available within Smithfield’s logistics partner.
The new distribution centre will be 500,000 square feet and construction will began this month. The blast cell cold storage expansion, announced earlier this year, is already underway and will increase the facility’s capacity by 140 million pounds. Both projects will be completed by autumn 2018.
The Tar Heel facility employs nearly 5,000 people and processes more than 30,000 hogs each day.
Smithfield Foods CEO Kenneth M. Sullivan said: “This expansion reflects the promising new era we’re experiencing at Smithfield. It supports our continued growth and helps us better serve our customers by providing additional capacity and optimising our distribution footprint.”
Senior vice president Dennis Organ added: “At Smithfield, we’re constantly evaluating strategies to achieve greater operational efficiencies and make our supply chain more sustainable. This project will help us accomplish both goals while better serving our customers in the south-eastern US.”
Earlier this month Smithfield announced it bought out the remaining stake in sausage manufacturer Kansas City Sausage Company, after investing in a 50-50 joint venture back in 2013. It has also joined Campbell’s in investing in US meal kit upstart Chef’d.
Source: Foodbev.com
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