JBS plant eyes US$60 million expansion

A proposal has totalled more than US$60 million calls for expanding the JBS slaughterhouse and meatpacking plant in Gun Plain Township, south of Plainwell, according to state and local officials.

Township Supervisor Mike VanDenBerg said the company is looking at a two-phase expansion of the facility, located south of Plainwell on 11th Street.

The first phase would expand freezer space at the plant, VanDenBerg said, and cost about US$43 million; while the second phase would expand plant space to accommodate more cattle processing. That phase would begin in two to three years and cost more than US$20 million.

The company told the township the second phase would result in 97 new, permanent jobs, he said.

The plant was formerly run by family-owned Murco Inc. and then Packerland, a subsidiary of Green Bay, Wisconsin-based Smithfield Beef Group Inc. It is now operated by JBS, a Brazilian company, after it acquired Smithfield Beef Group in 2008. JBS is the largest meatpacking and production firm in the world and is looking to expand into the US market, according to reports.

At a meeting of the Gun Plain Township Board of Trustees this month, board members discussed the possible expansion, VanDenBerg said. The company is seeking tax breaks before it commits to the project, he said.

JBS wanted a 100% tax break for 12 years, but the board opposed it and instead offered a 50% tax break for 12 years, he said, adding that the company is also looking at one of its plants in Utah as a potential site for expansion.

The Michigan Economic Development Corp. is working on an incentive package to persuade the company to expand at the Gun Plain Township facility, he said.

According to the USDA, there are four meat-processing plants in Michigan that accept livestock for immediate slaughter.