March 11, 2014

Peco Foods plans to open new poultry facility in Arkansas

With US$165 million operation expected to create a 1,000 jobs in two rural counties, Alabama-based Peco Foods announced plans for a new poultry plant, hatchery and feed mill in northeast Arkansas.

"We are extremely pleased to formally announce this new project today," said Mark Hickman, president and chief executive officer of Peco Foods.

Peco Foods is the eighth-largest poultry producer in the country. The company processes about 24 million pounds of poultry each week and specialises in boneless breast products for grocers and food-service markets. It will receive more than US$4.5 million in state and local incentives, with additional tax breaks planned, according to the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.

The company plans two phases of construction; the ground breaking for the feed mill site in Corning is set for next month, while initial work on the hatchery and processing plant site near Pocahontas is set for July. The company now has operations in Alabama and Mississippi, along with a processing plant in Batesville and a feed mill in Newark.

Peco Foods acquired the former Townsends Poultry Complex in Batesville in 2011.