Tyson Foods in May revealed plans for a new $300 million, 400,000-sq.-ft. case-ready plant in Utah County, Utah, the county just south of Salt Lake City (although the exact location has not been determined, according to a local report).

It initially will hire more than 800 when it comes online by 2021, and could employ 1,200 within three years of operation. The proposed facility will take large cuts of beef and pork and convert them into steaks, chops, roasts and ground meat to be packaged, weighed and labeled on retail trays that are shipped and sold in grocery stores.

Tyson Fresh Meats, the beef and pork subsidiary of Tyson Foods, currently operates case ready plants in Sherman, Texas, Council Bluff, Iowa, and Goodlettsville, Tenn. The addition of the Utah plant will help supply the western U.S.

The states economic development office approved a post-performance tax credit not to exceed $5.26 million over a 10-year-period and $300,00 from the Industrial Assistance Fund for last-mile infrastructure.

By Dave Fusaro, Editor in Chie