July 31, 2007

JBS Swift & Co. plans second shift at Greeley beef plant

JBS Swift & Co. is planning a second shift at its Greeley, Colorado beef plant, which eventually will demand an extra 5,800 to 6,000 head of fed cattle a day to supply.

The company's head of business and risk management, Marco Sampaio, said in an interview Monday (July 30) with Dow Jones Newswires that current plans call for the operation to start by Sept. 4 and be in full production by the end of December.

Sampaio said the firm planned to buy extra cattle in the open market. Officials also were working with area feedlots for the cattle it needs to operate the plant.

JBS Swift officials were "confident of supply," he said.