Walmart Opens Case-Ready Facility in Thomasville, Creates 200 Local Jobs

Walmart announced the opening of a case-ready facility that is part of the company’s new Angus beef supply chain. Governor Brian Kemp joined Walmart executives today to celebrate the opening of the company’s 201,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility in Thomasville, GA. Walmart began construction on the facility in August 2018. It is operated by FPL foods and brings 200+ jobs to Georgia.

“Today, we celebrate 200 new jobs for talented Georgians,” said Gov. Kemp. “Walmart has a long history in Georgia, I am thrilled that the company selected Thomasville as the location for this facility. It’s a vote of confidence...

Empirical Foods to Open New Ground Beef Facility in Kansas

South Dakota-based Empirical Foods announced plans to construct a new ground beef facility in Garden City, Kansas, adding that the investment is the largest in the company's 40-year history.

It said in a statement that the new plant, which Empirical will begin constructing in the first quarter of 2020, will supplement its existing production facility in South Sioux City, Nebraska and more than double the company’s current ground beef capacity.

“Demand for Empirical’s lean ground beef requires us to significantly increase our processing capacity to...

Tyson Looks to Expand Beef Operations Internationally

Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc., the beef and pork subsidiary of Tyson Foods, Inc., today signed an agreement with the Republic of Kazakhstan and private holding company Kusto Group to collaborate on a project that, in its initial phase could lead to the construction of a modern beef processing plant in Kazakhstan, with an anticipated harvest capacity of 2,000 head per day. As presently conceived, the investment is projected to help provide an annual agricultural economic benefit to the country well in excess of one billion dollars (USD).

Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in the world by geographic area and has identified the livestock and the multi-protein export industry as a key growth market. The country has an established beef industry which serves the domestic population with exports to the region. The agreement...

Australia: Unilever Relocating Weis Ice-Cream Production

Unilever has announced plans to move the production of its Weis Ice cream business from Queensland to New South Wales, local press reports.

In 2017 Unilever acquired Weis, an Australian ice cream and frozen dessert manufacturer. Its range features a variety of ice cream formats including single bar, multi-pack bars, dairy-free sorbet tubs and frozen yogurt tubs.

It is understood Unilever made the decision to close the factory after a review of its Australia and New Zealand ice cream business. The Toowoomba, Queensland facility is...

Verde's Growth Continues with Opening of Processing Facility

Verde Farms announces today the opening of its own processing facility in Mullica Hill, NJ. Marking a major milestone for the company, the opening signals Verde's enhanced capability to process its premium products in-house, while also offering advanced processing services to a select number of specialty meat customers. Following ongoing market growth and expansion of robust customer support services, the new facility underscores Verde Farms' position in grass-fed beef.

In its USDA Organic and level 2 SQF-certified facility, Verde will now process both frozen and fresh material into a variety of vacuum-packed products using the latest state-of-the art, highly-automated process and packaging equipment.

"Opening our own processing facility emphasizes our foundational commitment to offer the highest-quality products, while...

Vion Invests in a Dedicated Plant-Based Site in Leeuwarden

Vion CEO Ronald Lotgerink announced earlier this year to introduce meat alternatives as part of the company’s strategy of building food chains based on the market demand. Vion is now planning to open a dedicated plant-based site in Leeuwarden (NL).

The market for meat alternatives has been growing over the past few years and it is expected to continue to grow. Next to Vion’s home markets in the Netherlands and Germany, other parts of Europe like the UK, Italy and France are also growing markets for meat alternatives. This is mainly the result of eating habits of so-called flexitarians, who regularly buy these products.

The Vion site in Leeuwarden was built in 2017 and is currently operating as a beef facility. It was built according to the latest standards, which means...

Cargill to Invest $225 Million at Facility in Sidney, Ohio

Cargill is expanding its integrated soybean crush and refined oils facility in Sidney, Ohio, to better serve area farmers and to meet growing demand for protein and refined oils.

The company will invest approximately $225 million at the Sidney site, increasing crush capacity and modernizing operations. The investment creates greater market access for farmers’ crops in the area and allows those farmers to deliver their soybeans more efficiently, as the upgraded plant will unload trucks at a much faster rate.

“Farmers are at the core of our business. This investment will help us provide them a better experience when they choose to sell their crops to us,” said Don Camden, commercial leader for the eastern region of...

Kroger and Ocado Name Dallas Location of Fifth High-Tech Customer Fulfillment Center

The Kroger Co., America's largest grocery retailer, and Ocado, one of the world's largest dedicated online grocery retailers, today announced Dallas, Texas, as the fifth location for a Customer Fulfillment Center (CFC).

"Kroger is incredibly excited to construct one of our industry-leading Customer Fulfillment Centers in Dallas, Texas — one of the largest cities in America — in relationship with Ocado to bring fresh food to our customers faster than ever before," said Robert Clark, Kroger's senior vice president of supply chain, manufacturing and sourcing. "Through our strategic partnership, we are engineering a model for the region, leveraging advanced robotics technology and creative solutions to redefine the customer experience for...

New Facility to Boost Tyson Foods’ Automation and Robotics Efforts

Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN) has created a new, state-of-the-art facility designed to help the company develop more automation and robotics for its food production plants.

The Tyson Manufacturing Automation Center (TMAC) officially opened in downtown Springdale today. The center provides space for the development of new manufacturing solutions and collaboration with the company’s information technology team and equipment suppliers. It also serves as a location for team member training on new technology.

The investment is part of Tyson Foods’ focus on continuous improvement. The development of new technology and processes will help improve...

Amazon Announces Plans to Expand in Pennsylvania

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced plans to open its 15th Pennsylvanian operations facility in Pittsburgh, creating more than 800 new, full-time jobs starting at $15 an hour with comprehensive benefits and opportunities in an industry-leading workplace.

“Pennsylvania is a great state for business and Amazon is excited to continue its growth and investment with our newest fulfillment center in Allegheny County,” said Alicia Boler Davis, vice president of global customer fulfillment, Amazon. “For nearly a decade, the Keystone state has been key to Amazon’s ability to serve our incredible customers and provide great selection and super-fast shipping speeds across the Northeast and Midwest regions of the U.S. Since 2010, the company has invested more than $8.5 billion in the state through its local fulfillment center and...

House of Raeford Farms Announces $40 Million Feed Mill for Louisiana Complex

House of Raeford Farms announced that construction would begin this summer on a new feed mill for the Arcadia, Louisiana complex. The facility, to be located in Simsboro, Louisiana and Lincoln Parish, will be built at a cost of $40 million and be capable of producing 12,500 tons of feed weekly, double the capacity of the current mill.

The company will also make building modifications and add new equipment totaling over $7 million to the hatchery in Gibsland, Louisiana and the processing plant in Arcadia, Louisiana. As a result, the complex will add more than 100 new jobs, and live production will contract for 86 new poultry houses over the next two years with a new construction impact to...

Market House Meats Adds Custom Meat Processing

A year and a half after announcing the addition of its new land-based protein division, Market House Meats will open an additional facility offering custom meat processing to local restaurant and foodservice operators. The new USDA-inspected facility will accommodate specialty orders such as dry-aged cuts tailored to customer focused specifications.

“Market House Meats has far exceeded expectations,” said Mike Higgins, The Fish Guys, Inc. Owner and CEO. “With this addition, we’ve hit a goal to see this company become a true full-service, center-of-the-plate protein purveyor.”

According to Tim McKee, The Fish Guys SVP of Business Development and James Beard award-winning, “Adding a cutting facility opens up a lot of doors. We have customers that have been asking for this service since...

Beyond Meat Partners with Zandbergen to Launch Production in Europe

Beyond Meat announced a partnership with Zandbergen World's Finest Meats to produce its plant-based meats at a facility in Europe. The companies expect the facility to be up and running by 2020.

This will mark the first time Beyond Meat will hold production outside of the United States. The new space will allow Beyond Meat to quickly distribute their products to Europe while shrinking their transportation footprint. 

“The consumer response in Europe has been very positive and we look forward to being able to better serve those customers..."

Maple Leaf Advances Leadership in Growing Plant-Based Protein Market with New Production Facility 

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. ("Maple Leaf" or the "Company") (TSX: MFI) and its wholly owned subsidiary, Greenleaf Foods, SPC, today announced plans to construct a US$310 million plant-based protein food processing facility in Shelbyville, Indiana. At approximately 230,000 square feet, it will be the largest facility and investment of its kind in North America. The Company will also invest approximately US$26 million to keep pace with ongoing growth in demand at its existing facilities. This strategic initiative will support Maple Leaf's continued growth and leadership in the rapidly expanding market for plant-based protein.

"With Lightlife and Field Roast, we own the leading brands in the North American refrigerated plant-based protein market," said Michael H. McCain, President and CEO. "This investment will secure our ...

UNFI Announces Plans to Optimize Pacific Northwest Distribution Center Network

UNFI (NYSE: UNFI) today announced plans to optimize its distribution center network in the Pacific Northwest. This plan includes building a new facility and expanding another to enhance customer product offerings, create more efficient inventory management, streamline operations and incorporate best in class technology to deliver a better customer experience. The optimization of the Pacific Northwest distribution network will also help deliver meaningful synergies contemplated in the acquisition of SUPERVALU in October 2018.

The company has entered into a long-term lease agreement with a developer in Centralia to construct a 1.2 million square-foot distribution center exclusively for UNFI on approximately 77 acres at 4002 Galvin Road in Centralia, Washington. The Centralia distribution center is located in close proximity to two existing UNFI DCs in Tacoma and Portland ...