January 9, 2006

US poultry company to up production 31 percent

Gold'n Plump announced plans Thursday for a US$38 million expansion in Arcadia, Wisconsin, that is expected to be completed in 2008.

The St. Cloud-based poultry company spent six months studying the expansion and met with officials from both Minnesota and Wisconsin. Both states offered incentives.

Gold'n Plump Chief Executive Mike Helgeson said in a news release that the company decided to expand the plant in Wisconsin because it had the most potential for improving efficiency and quickly increasing production.

The plan calls for increasing production capacity at the Arcadia plant by 31 percent, adding 50 full-time employees, building a large hatchery in the area, and adding 36 breeder and grower barns in south-western Wisconsin.