November 6, 2019

Koch Foods to invest more than US$50 million in poultry feed mill in Alabama, US

The governor of US state Alabama joined representatives of Koch Foods and local leaders in Etowah County to announce that Koch plans to invest more than US$50 million to establish a state-of-the-art grain storage and distribution facility in Attalla.

Koch Foods said the new poultry feed mill will create 28 new jobs with an annual payroll of US$1 million. The Attalla facility, designed with technologically advanced features for maximum efficiency, will support the company's recently expanded processing plant in nearby Gadsden.

"Koch Foods already has significant operations in Alabama, and this new investment will magnify the company's economic impact on the state," Governor Kay Ivey said.

"This project adds a robust new dimension to the industrial sector in the state and permits us to strengthen our longstanding relationship with a major employer."

Koch Foods kicked off its plans to open the new high-tech poultry feed-mill in Attalla with a ground-breaking ceremony on November 5.

The 130-acre facility will have the ability to hold more than one billion bushels of corn, served directly by rail.

"We are very excited about building one of the most technologically innovative grain storage facilities in the world," said Matthew Herman, Koch senior vice president of fresh operations.

"We continue to expand our business in Alabama and are thankful for the cooperative environment between business and government in the state to get things accomplished."

In 2018, Koch announced an US$80 million expansion of its Gadsden plant as part of a growth project involving 200 new jobs. The project added a fourth processing line to the facility, boosting production capacity and making the Etowah County operation one of the largest poultry-processing plants in the country.

"We're excited that Koch Foods has chosen Attalla for this large, high-tech facility. We are thankful to have 28 new, high-paying jobs in our community, and this facility will build on the strong focus on industry and innovation that are woven into the history of Attalla," Mayor Larry Means said.

Construction is already under way at the Koch site, and the facility is expected to become operational in fall 2021. The company will start assembling a management team in the first quarter of 2020 and will begin interviewing prospective production workers in early 2021.

- Made In Alabama