Tyson Fresh Meats to build $300m plant in Utah, US

Tyson Fresh Meats, the beef and pork unit of Tyson Foods, is set to build a food production plant in Utah with an investment of nearly $300m.

The case-ready facility will be engaged in converting large cuts of beef and pork into steaks, chops, roasts and ground meat.

They are placed in retail trays, weighed and labelled and later on shipped to retailers to be sold through the grocery meat case.

According to the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), the facility is expected to create nearly 800 jobs initially and expand to 1,200 positions over a period of three years after opening.

GOED estimates that the facility will add an estimated $27m in state tax revenue over the next ten years.

GOED executive director Val Hale said: “We are pleased that Tyson Foods, a Fortune 100 company, has selected Utah to build its newest facility.

“This well-known company has a long history and great reputation. It will allow them to have better distribution and access to the western states.”

Tyson currently operates case-ready plants in Iowa, Tennessee and Texas and hopes to open the Utah facility as soon as 2021.

Tyson Fresh Meats case-ready meats senior vice-president and general manager Nate Hodne said: “We believe Utah is a great location because of the availability of labour and property and the access to highways and rail. Once built, the new facility will help us meet the growing demand for case-ready meat in the western US.”

In March, Tyson Fresh Meats partnered with IdentiGEN to use DNA technology that will help to trace beef back to the animal of origin.

IdentiGEN’s DNA TraceBack system will serve as an important tool to track the cattle raised for Tyson’s Open Prairie Natural Angus Beef.