Smithfield Foods Invests $100M in NC Facility
The producer plans to create approximately 250 new jobs by building a new distribution center and expanding its storage capabilities in Tar Heel.
By Laura Calugar
The Smithfield Foods plant in Tar Heel, N.C.
Smithfield Foods Inc. intends to invest $100 million in a new distribution center at the company’s processing facility in Tar Heel, N.C. Smithfield will build a 500,000-square-foot plant and add approximately 250 new jobs. The project also includes the expansion of the facility’s blast cell cold storage capabilities.
Expanding NC footprint
Smithfield will begin construction of the new distribution center this month. The facility will feature 47,000 pallet positions. The $45 million blast cell cold storage expansion, announced earlier this year, is underway and will increase the facility’s capacity by 140 million pounds.
“It supports our continued growth and helps us better serve our customers by providing additional capacity and optimizing our distribution footprint,” said Smithfield Foods President & CEO Kenneth Sullivan, in prepared remarks.
Both projects are slated for completion by next fall. The Smithfield facility in Tar Heel is the largest pork processing plant in the world and it currently employs nearly 5,000 people and processes more than 30,000 hogs each day.
North Carolina has become an appealing state for industrial developers. Recently, Swiss-based global technology group Oerlikon announced its intentions to invest $62 million to establish a manufacturing hub in Huntersville, N.C.
Image via Google Street View
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