Tyson Foods, Springdale, Ark., announced plans to invest $84 million in its Union City, Tenn., poultry plant, creating more than 300 jobs. The project is expected to be complete by mid-2019.

“Customer and consumer demand for protein, especially chicken, is increasing, so we’re investing in projects that build on our strengths, expand our capabilities and increase our capacity,” says Doug Ramsey, group president of poultry. “Expansions like this position us to grow and support our customers.”

The project, set to begin this fall, will increase capacity to the plant’s existing harvest area, install more processing lines and add about 25,000 square feet, as well as upgrades to supporting operations at the hatchery, feed mill and in transportation.

In order to meet the new capacity of the facility, Tyson Foods estimates nearly 200 more broiler chicken houses will need to be built in northwestern Tennessee within the next two years.