JBS plans US$40 million expansion in Iowa

The pork producer JBS has announced that construction on a $40 million distribution centre in Marshalltown, Iowa, is to start on Monday (May 24).

The company said the facility is expected to add about 30 jobs and should be operational in March. The new 100,000-square-foot centre will be used to distribute fresh and frozen pork products. The company received about US$3.9 million in incentives for the project from the state of Iowa.

JBS representative Chandler Keys said the company plans to free production space that is currently used for storage, allowing the company to add more lines.

Earlier, exports to the US from one of JBS plants had stopped after US authorities detected traces of medicine in its meat above permitted levels. The company said its other plants would serve the US market while it investigates, making the financial impact on the firm negligible, adding that produce from the Lins plant would continue to serve other markets.