Smithfield Foods, Inc. plans to build a new distribution center and expand blast cell cold storage capabilities at its processing facility in Tar Heel, North Carolina, USA. Approximately $100 million will be invested and 250 jobs will be added to the payroll in the process.
“This expansion reflects the promising new era we’re experiencing,” said Kenneth M. Sullivan, president and chief executive of the Smithville, Virginia-headquartered company. “It supports our continued growth and helps us better serve our customers by providing additional capacity and optimizing our distribution footprint.”
Construction of the 500,000-square-foot distribution center, which will have 47,000 pallet positions, will begin this month. The blast cell cold storage expansion, announced earlier this year, is already under way and will increase warehouse capacity by 140 million pounds. Both projects are scheduled for completion by the autumn of 2018.
“We’re constantly evaluating strategies to achieve greater operational efficiencies and make our supply chain more sustainable,” said Dennis Organ, senior vice president, supply chain and direct store delivery. “This project will help us accomplish both goals while better serving our customers in the southeastern United States.”
Smithfield’s Tar Heel facility, ranked as the largest pork processing plant in the world, employs nearly 5,000 people and processes more than 30,000 hogs each day. Among the company’s frozen and refrigerated food products are Armour brand meatballs, Nathan’s hot dogs and bagel dogs, and Curly’s pulled pork.
