Major Pork Processing Facility Planned For NW Iowa

Seaboard Foods and Triumph Foods announced today the formation of a joint venture, with equal ownership, to construct a new, state-of-the-art pork processing facility in Sioux City.

The plant is expected to process about three million market hogs annually operating a single shift. The plant will be built on property in the Bridgeport West Industrial Park in Sioux City along the Missouri River. The plant will employ approximately 1,100 persons, including approximately 200 salaried positions and 900 hourly production positions, according to a company release.

A full line of fresh pork products for international, retail, food service, and further processing markets will be produced. Seaboard Foods will market and sell the pork produced by the plant.

"Today's announcement marks another step in strengthening our business partnership and position as a leading integrated food system providing customers domestically and throughout the world with premium pork focused on the highest standards for food safety and pork quality consistency," says Terry Holton, Seaboard Foods president and CEO. "We look forward to the new opportunities the plant will bring to our customers as well as the Sioux City region."

Mark Campbell, Triumph Foods CEO, adds, "When we started inquiring about expanding our business, we recognized the strong commitment and willingness to welcome Triumph Foods and Seaboard Foods to the city. Local leaders have built a business environment poised to bring growth to the region. We look forward to the new pork processing facility being part of that growth, and its staff being actively involved in the Sioux City community."

Triumph Foods is owned exclusively by pork producers and Seaboard Foods is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Seaboard Corporation. Triumph Foods and Seaboard Foods are integrated food companies, with farm operations and pork processing, controlling the entire process every step of the way from before the farm to the plate. If the two companies were considered as a single combined entity, they would comprise the second largest hog producer, a top five U.S. pork processor, and a leading exporter of U.S. pork.

Sioux City was selected because of the existence of a shovel-ready industrial site location, transportation infrastructure, availability of market hogs in the region, and the pro-business environment city leaders, the Iowa Economic Development Authority and the state of Iowa demonstrated throughout the site selection process.

Both Seaboard Foods and Triumph Foods share a strong commitment to stewardship and community involvement. Focused on being good neighbors, the pork processing facility will include a modern architecture design, customized landscaping for beautification and buffering from neighbors, and modern odor abatement technologies, as well as other environmentally friendly design features. Also, Triumph Foods and Seaboard Foods have made a commitment for the plant to support local civic and charitable organizations and community events.

Site work is expected to begin on the facility this summer and construction is to be completed by July 2017.

Source: IowaPork