Tyson Foods to invest $55m in pre-packaged meat expansion

Tyson Foods has announced plans to expand its case-ready meats production capacity by converting an idle facility in Columbia, South Carolina.

The company will initially invest approximately $42 million to transform its South Carolina facility into a meat portioning and packaging operation. Over the next three to five years, it will make further improvements and invest in production equipment, reaching a total estimated investment of $55 million.

The meat-cutting facility will produce portioned packages of sliced, fresh beef and pork, as well as ground beef, which is ready to be sold at grocery and club stores in the eastern US.

Tyson’s plan to repurpose its plant capacity in South Carolina forms part of its strategy to increase the production of its consumer ready products. Last year, Tyson invested $27 million to upgrade its prepared foods production site in Illinois.

“Once operational, this new facility will help us meet growing demand from our retail customers with high quality, pre-cut, pre-packaged fresh beef and pork,” said Nate Hodne, senior vice president and general manager of the portioned protein innovations team for Tyson Fresh Meats, the beef and pork subsidiary of Tyson Foods.

The South Carolina plant is expected to begin production in May 2021 and will employ 330 people, more than double the number of employees who worked at the facility when it closed in August 2020.

South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture, Hugh Weathers, said: “Tyson Foods’ reinvestment in the Columbia plant highlights South Carolina’s strategic and geographic importance to agribusiness.”

Tyson Foods’ case-ready beef and pork business currently operates plants in Iowa, Tennessee and Texas, with plans to open a new facility in Utah later this year.