Tyson Foods, Inc., Springdale, Ark., proposed building a new processing facility near its existing poultry plant in Green Forest, Ark. The new $136 million facility would create about 85 jobs once fully operational. 

“This project would allow us to better serve our foodservice customers through improved product mix and greater efficiencies,” says Noel White, president of poultry. “This is the first new plant construction project Tyson Foods has proposed to build in a number of years, and we’re hopeful we can partner with Carroll County and the AEDC to invest in our home state.” 

The Green Forest plant currently produces a variety of partially cooked chicken products, including nuggets and portioned fillets for foodservice and retail customers. The new project will increase the facility’s partially cooked capacity, increasing efficiency by reducing transportation of products to other locations for further processing. The development of the new plant would not change the number of chickens grown for operations in Carroll County, Ark.

The project would be new construction of more than 200,000 square feet across the street from the existing plant. Plans call for the facilities to be connected by a corridor. Improvements would include new equipment and production lines, as well as processes and technology designed to benefit food safety, quality and workplace safety. Construction could begin as early as summer, and would be completed in late 2017.

Originally built by Franz Foods in 1959, Tyson Foods purchased the Green Forest plant in 1967. The facility currently employs more than 1,250 people.