Jbs-owned Pilgrim’s Pride Earmarks $400m For New Us Factory

Pilgrim’s Pride firm logo. Credit: Piotr Swat/Shutterstock

Pilgrim’s Pride, nan US nutrient business mostly owned by Brazil’s JBS, is investing $400m successful a caller manufacturing plant.

The prepared-foods installation is to beryllium built successful LaFayette, a metropolis successful Walker County, successful what Pilgrim’s described arsenic a “multi-phase” task that will grow its existing beingness successful nan authorities of Georgia.

Once afloat operational, nan tract will support 630 caller jobs, Pilgrim’s said successful a statement.

Located astatine nan Walker County Business Park successful LaFayette, nan mill will nutrient cooked chickenhearted products falling wrong Pilgrim’s prepared-foods business unit.

Work is expected to get underway this coming autumn and nan first shape of nan task is apt to beryllium completed successful 2027, erstwhile hiring of unit is projected to begin.

Pilgrim’s CEO Fabio Sandri said: “This important finance will let further maturation of our prepared-foods business by expanding brands for illustration Just Bare, Pilgrim’s, and Gold Kist, and supporting expanding request successful unit and foodservice channels.

“Expanding nan Pilgrim’s footprint successful Georgia highlights our ongoing committedness to nan region and our company’s semipermanent maturation strategy.”

Pilgrim’s added that nan institution presently operates 7 accumulation accommodation successful Georgia, arsenic good arsenic provender mills and hatcheries. It employs astir 7,500 workers successful nan state.

Angie Teems, nan chair and CEO of nan Walker County Government, added: “Not only is this a well-respected institution pinch a beardown way record, but it already has a beingness successful our organization done its partnerships pinch section poultry growers.

“Expanding their operations present is simply a earthy adjacent measurement that will fortify our section system and reenforce our county’s committedness to supporting hardworking families.”

More broadly, Pilgrim’s said it operates nutrient and prepared-foods plants successful 14 US states, but besides has factories successful Puerto Rico, Mexico, nan UK, and nan wider European region.

Meanwhile, JBS owns astir 80% of Greeley, Colorado-based Pilgrim’s. The Brazilian nutrient elephantine did make a move to return afloat power successful 2021 but past pulled out nan pursuing year.

“JBS withdrew its connection aft it was incapable to travel to an statement pinch nan typical committee of nan PPC [Pilgrim’s Pride] committee of board regarding nan position of nan projected transaction,” nan institution said astatine nan time.

The Brazil-based business has besides been making investments of its ain this year. In May, JBS announced a $135m task for a new sausage plant successful Iowa by its US subsidiary.

JBS besides unveiled $200m to boost beef production astatine its accommodation successful Cactus, Texas, and its Greeley works successful Colorado.

Further afield, nan institution said successful March it planned to build 2 nutrient factories successful Vietnam pinch a full finance of $100m. Then earlier this month, JBS kicked disconnected its first beef shipments to nan Asian state from its Mozarlândia mill successful Brazil.