Sanderson to begin construction

July 23, 2009

 

David Anderson

Kinston Free Press

Sanderson Farms officials announced Thursday they have ended a 13-month construction delay for a new poultry processing plant in Kinston.

Pic Billingsley, Sanderson Farms Director of Development and Engineering, said that Sanderson Farms’ Board of Directors have decided to move forward with the Kinston facility plans.

Billingsley said production at the Kinston processing site will begin January 2011 but much work has to be done before the anticipated start date.

Officials plan to award contract bids for the hatchery and feed mill construction next week. Sanderson Farms will break ground for construction for a processing plant before Labor Day, according to Billingsley.

The processing plant alone is projected to employ 1,500 workers.

Lenoir County Economic Development Director Mark Pope received the good news Thursday afternoon that Sanderson Farms was moving forward with the Kinston project.

“We are fortunate to have a company like Sanderson Farms coming to Kinston,” Pope said. “We need to get those 1,500 jobs here so badly.”

The company first announced on April 24, 2008 that it planned to invest $126.5 million in a Kinston poultry processing  plant. The project was delayed on June 26, 2008 due to weakening marketing conditions based on higher-than-average corn and soybean prices and a slowdown in the international markets for poultry products.

“We are pleased that better overall market conditions, our financial performance and a strong balance sheet have put us in the position to continue to grow our company,” Sanderson Farms CEO Joe Sanderson Jr. said. “We are also proud to honor our commitment to the economic development and governmental officials in, and citizens of, the City of Kinston, Lenoir County and the State of North Carolina.”

Sanderson Farms, which is based in Laurel, Miss., previously planned to invest $126.5 million for the constuction of a new feed mill, poultry processing plant and hatchery on separate sites in Kinston and Lenoir County. The budget for the project is now expected to be about $121.4 milllion.

The new facilities will comprise a state-of-the-art poultry complex with the capacity to process 1.25 million birds per week for the retail chill pack market. At full capacity, the complex will employ approximately 1,500 people, will require 130 contract growers, and will be equipped to process and sell 6.7 million pounds per week of dressed poultry meat at full production.

Pope said Sanderson Farms will likely begin hiring employees for the new processing plant during the summer and fall of 2010.

There will be about 160 salaried positions that will also pay between $40,000 and $100,000 annually, Pope said.

Entry level pay at the processing plant will be $10 an hour with opportunities for pay increases, Pope said.

Sanderson Farms currently has a local representative, Randall Boehme, who can help with any questions. Boehme’s office is located at 508 Plaza Blvd. Kinston, NC. 28501.

For more information on Sanderson Farms’ plans call (252) 208-0036.

Chris Lavender can be reached at (252) 559 1078 or clavender@freedomenc.com.

Sanderson Farms timeline:

April 24, 2008: Sanderson announces it is coming to Kinston

June 26, 2008: Announcement that move to Kinston is delayed indefinitely because of high grain prices

Thursday: Sanderson announces that company is back on track to open operations in Kinston; ground-breaking to happen within next 30 days, processing to begin in January 2011