Tyson meat processing plant bringing Utah up to 1,400 jobs

By Brice Wallace 

A large meat producer and supplier will put a production/distribution facility in Utah County, eventually creating 1,400 jobs.

Tyson Fresh Meats Inc., a subsidiary of Tyson Foods Inc., made the announcement last week after being approved for incentives by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development board. One incentive is tied to the creation of 500 high-paying jobs over the next decade that are expected to pay an average of $56,000 per year.{mprestriction ids="1,3"}

Tyson Fresh Meats produces and supplies case-ready beef and pork products to retail and food service customers. Founded in 1960, it has operations and offices in 24 states and more than 41,000 employees. Its brands include Chairman’s Reserve, Open Prairie Natural Meats, Star Ranch Angus, IBP, Supreme Tender Pork, Reuben and Case Ready Variety Meats.

Tyson Foods Inc., founded in the 1930s, is based in Arkansas and is the world’s second-largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef and pork. With its subsidiaries, its brands include Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm, Sara Lee, Ball Park, Wright Brand and Statefair.

The $286 million Utah project will be a facility that will take in meat — no live animals — from Kansas, Texas, Illinois, Iowa and Washington and then cut, package and ship the products to California and the rest of the West Coast.

“It’s a very exciting project for us — extremely high capital investment [of] almost $300 million they will be putting into this facility,” said Thomas Wadsworth, GOED associate managing director.

Wadsworth said the company has a preferred location in Utah County which he did not disclose but said is in a new, fast-growing community.

“This project will bring a number of infrastructure assets to the community that they currently don’t have,” he said. “And, actually, the community currently has next-to-zero jobs. The largest employer in the community is the city government right now.

“This is extremely exciting because it provides an opportunity to have jobs in a community where people are growing and people can live close to where they work, which is unique.”

Wadsworth said Utah faced competition for the project from Arizona, Nevada and Colorado.

The project is expected to result in new wages of $202.6 million over 10 years and new state tax revenue of nearly $27.8 million during that period. While the project will have hourly positions, jobs tied to the incentive will include human resource managers, complex managers and maintenance team members.

The GOED board approved a nearly $5.3 million tax credit and up to $300,000 for infrastructure, with the city and county also pitching in for needed roads, sewage and power. The infrastructure improvements are expected to enable the community to attract other large employers.

The GOED incentives are contingent on final incentive approvals from local entities.

“It’s important to realize that Tyson Foods is a tremendous partner for the communities historically around the country, that they are a major participant in the local communities, and this is a really great opportunity for the state of Utah,” said Jerry Oldroyd, the GOED board’s chairman.{/mprestriction}