Simmons Foods has revealed plans for a $100 million expansion of its prepared foods operation located at 2101 Twin Circle Drive in Van Buren, Arkansas.
Joel Sappenfield, president of Simmons Prepared Foods, said: “This investment will create 100 new jobs, including highly skilled positions to support robotics and automation processes. 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.”
The project will add 65,000 square feet to the existing plant to make way for two new highly automated production and packaging lines. The plans also include enhanced interior spaces for team members and improved traffic flow in and around the site.
The company expects to break ground on the project this month and have production online by the first quarter of 2023. Nabholz Construction will serve as the general contractor on the build.
Sappenfield added: “We’re excited to build on our success in the region. Our River Valley team is an important part of our company’s total operations. We have three production locations here in the River Valley as well as a Hiring Center and a Simmons Care Clinic dedicated to providing medical care with no added co-pays exclusively for our team members and their covered dependents.”
Simmons currently employs approximately 600 full-time team members at this location. The operation consists of three production lines, producing approximately 110 million pounds of fully cooked, premium chicken products annually. The expansion will increase annual production capacity by approximately 100 million pounds.