September 8, 2006

Gold Kist completes US$30 million expansion
 

Gold Kist Inc completed its US$30 million expansion of its poultry plant in Guntersville in Alabama, Thursday (Sep 7).

The 80,000-square-foot expansion would add 200 processing jobs, bringing the total number of employees at the facility to 1,450.

The new plant now occupies about 200,000 square feet.

The plant expansion is an important part of Gold Kist's plan to increase production of value-added products, CEO John Bekkers said, adding that the completion of this facility recognizes Gold Kist's 35-year commitment to the local employees, poultry producers and the community.

The expansion provides space for new packaging equipment for producing the Gold Kist Fridge-to-Freezer Pak, which was introduced last year in Costco stores.

Gold Kist, the third-largest chicken company in the US, bought the Guntersville processing plant in 1971 from Pillsbury.