Meat+Poultry - February 2022 - 10

BUSINESS NOTES
Simmons Foods announces
$100M Arkansas expansion
Simmons Foods announced plans for a
$100 million expansion of its prepared
foods plant in Van Buren, Ark. The
65,000-square-foot expansion will add two
automated production and packaging lines.
" This investment will create 100 new
jobs, including highly skilled positions to
support robotics and automation processes, "
said Joel Sappenfield, president of Simmons
Prepared Foods. " The expansion will also
support growth in the local economy and
assist in meeting market demand for one of
the fastest growing segments of the business
- cooked products. "
Pure Prairie Farms
prepares to take
flight this spring
After the long-awaited approval of its bid
to purchase the former Simply Essentials
chicken plant by a US Bankruptcy Court,
officials with Pure Prairie Farms Inc.
announced future plans for the facility,
which is still equipped for air-chilled
poultry processing to supply retail and
foodservice customers. The plant, which
was forced to close in August 2019 due
to financial shortfalls, is also designed
for CO2 stunning and a production line
with a capacity of 140 birds per minute.
According to court records, the plant was
acquired for $9.5 million and Pure Prairie
Farms plans to partner with the chicken
farmers that formerly supplied Simply
Essentials in addition to other producers in
the region.
According to Brian Roelofs, president
and chief executive officer of Pure Prairie
Farms, the company will source chicken
from producers raising birds on vegetable
and grain-based diets that have never been
treated with antibiotics to produce its
premium products. He said the partnership
is with local farmers who formerly supplied
Simply Essentials and will add more
producers as the integrated company grows.
10 MEAT+POULTRY | 02.22 | www.meatpoultry.com
Simmons Foods currently employs
about 600 full-time workers at the Van
Buren plant. The current facility houses
three production lines that produce
approximately 110,000,000 lbs of fully
cooked, premium chicken products
annually. The expansion will increase
production capacity by approximately
100,000,000 lbs.
Nabholz Construction will break ground
later this month. Production is expected to
be online in the first quarter of 2023.
" We're excited to build on our success
in the region, " Sappenfield said.
Hormel
recognized as
female-friendly
employer
In its inaugural ranking
of the World's Top
Female-Friendly
Companies, Forbes
magazine identified
Hormel Foods Corp.
as one of the 300 firms
included in the list, the
company announced on
Dec. 28, 2021. Hormel
said it has focused on
establishing a femalefriendly
culture as a
long-term commitment.
One way the company
achieves this is
maintaining employee
resource groups,
including its Women in
Leadership and Women's
Insight Network
to provide female
employees with a career
path and advancement
opportunities.
" Our culture
Beyond Fried Chicken
debuts nationwide
Kentucky Fried Chicken and Beyond
Meat joined forces to release plant-based
Beyond Fried Chicken at KFC locations
nationwide. Beginning on Jan. 10, KFC
restaurants around the country started
offering the plant-based chicken alternative
while supplies last. Beyond Meat developed
Beyond Fried Chicken exclusively for KFC.
" The mission from day one was
simple - make the world-famous Kentucky
Fried Chicken from plants, " said Kevin
Hochman, president, KFC US. " And now
over two years later we can say, 'mission
accomplished.' "
KFC introduced its first version of
Beyond Fried Chicken in August 2019
as the first QSR to offer a plant-based
chicken alternative.
supports inclusion and
diversity throughout
our global operations,
with opportunities,
programs and policies
that are female-forward, "
said Deanna Brady,
executive vice president
and group president
of the Refrigerated
Foods business unit.
" In addition, we have a
leadership team that has
some of the brightest and
most talented women
leaders in the Fortune
500 ranks leading key
business and functional
areas, and a pipeline of
emerging female leaders
poised to continue the
trajectory well into the
future. "
Beyond Meat
http://www.meatpoultry.com
Meat+Poultry - February 2022

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