Tyson Foods Announces Plans for Additional Production Facilities for Its International Business

Tyson Foods, Inc. announced plans to build new production facilities in China and Thailand, and expand its facility in the Netherlands. The latest expansions, adding over 100,000 metric tons of fully cooked poultry capacity, build on the company’s global growth strategy to become the leader in protein by serving emerging markets and strategic customers.

“Global population and income growth will continue to drive an increased need for protein,” said Dean Banks, president and CEO of Tyson Foods. “These investments allow us to increase our in-country operations and global export capabilities, helping us bring more safe, high-quality protein for...

Agrotop to Build Georgia's Largest Food Processing Plant for Chirina

Agrotop, a leading global player in the poultry and livestock industry, will build a new state-of-the-art meat processing plant for Chirina, Georgia's largest food-producing company.

The completed ready-to-eat (RTE) food processing plant is expected to begin production within a year and generate 8–10 tons of chicken products per day. The factory, which will be Georgia's largest, will produce sliced meats, sausages and cold cuts.

The new production facility will be built in a modular way, enabling...

Eat Just and Proterra Asia Partner on JUST Egg Protein Facility and Expansion

Eat Just, Inc. announced a partnership with a consortium led by Proterra Investment Partners Asia Pte. Ltd. (Proterra Asia), an investment management firm focused on the food and agribusiness sectors, to meet demand for the plant-based JUST Egg in Asia.

The consortium will invest up to $100 million and Eat Just will invest up to $20 million to build and operate their first-in-Asia, and largest, plant protein production facility in Singapore. The resulting Eat Just subsidiary, to be known as Eat Just Asia, will serve JUST Egg manufacturing and distribution partners across Asia.

The partnership combines Eat Just’s proprietary protein separation technology, leadership and innovative business model with...

French Plant-Based Protein Maker Roquette Sees Short-Term COVID-19 Impact

The plant-based protein market has seen a slowdown in new product launches and lower sales in restaurants and cafeterias due to COVID-19 but benefited from more people cooking at home and trying new products, French manufacturer Roquette said.

The market for plant-based protein such as meat-free burgers has surged in the past few years, attracting major investment from global agrifood groups, including Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, and Nestle, hoping to capitalize on a trend towards healthy eating generally, including less red meat.

But lockdowns around the world to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have shaken the market, Jean-Philippe Azoulay, Head of Pea and New Proteins Business at French ingredient maker...

Bell & Evans Begins Construction On an Organic Chicken Facility

Premium poultry producer Bell & Evans began construction on a new 411,500 square foot, Organic-Certified Chicken Harvesting Facility in Fredericksburg, Pennsylvania. The first precast walls were placed in July, and the facility will be operational by late 2021. The project will cost the company approximately $330 million and double its current production capacity.

Bell & Evans produces 100% premium Raised Without Antibiotics chicken and Organic chicken, approximately 60% and 40% of its business, respectively. The additional capacity will allow Bell & Evans to continue expanding...

Amazon to Add Thousands of Jobs to Phoenix Metro Area

Amazon.com, Inc. announced 11 new sites across the Phoenix metro area expected to be open by the end of 2020 to support customer fulfillment and delivery operations. The new sites are expected to create more than 3,000 new full- and part-time jobs with a minimum $15 per hour wage and comprehensive benefits starting on day one.

The news follows Amazon’s recent announcement of the company’s Phoenix Tech Hub expansion at 100 Mill, which will bring more than...

Kroger and Ocado Announce Three Additional Regions for Customer Fulfillment Centers

Kroger and Ocado announced the continued expansion of their partnership with plans to construct three new Customer Fulfillment Centers (CFC) in the Great Lakes, Pacific Northwest and West regions.

"Kroger is incredibly excited to construct three additional industry-leading Customer Fulfillment Centers across the country in relationship with Ocado to bring fresh food to our customers more conveniently than ever before," said Robert Clark, Kroger's senior vice president of supply chain, manufacturing and sourcing. "Through our strategic partnership, we are...

Quirch Foods Opens New Distribution Center 

Quirch Foods, LLC opens its sixth distribution center in Greensboro North Carolina. The expansion is an essential component to the growth of the company which seeks to continue expanding and leveraging its distribution reach. Currently operating with 5 distribution centers located throughout the Southeast and the Caribbean, the sixth facility is set to begin operations in early March of 2020. The addition of this warehouse facility extends the company’s reach and ability to service independent and national supermarkets in and around the Carolinas and northward.

“We continue to look for opportunities to expand our reach and find strategic locations which will facilitate a...

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...