Simmons Foods will launch a $100 million expansion of its prepared foods operation in Van Buren, the Siloam Springs company announced.
The expansion is expected to create 100 new jobs to support robotics and automation processes, according to Joel Sappenfield, Simmons Foods president.
“The expansion will also support growth in the local economy and assist in meeting market demand for one of the fastest growing segments of the business — cooked products,” he said in a statement.
The project will add 65,000 square feet to the existing plant, making way for two new automated production and packaging lines. The plans also include enhanced interior spaces for team members and improved traffic flow in and around the site.
Simmons expects to break ground on the project this month and have production online by the first quarter of 2023. Nabholz Construction will serve as the general contractor on the build.
“We’re excited to build on our success in the region,” Sappenfield said. “Our River Valley team is an important part of our company’s total operations. We have three production locations here in the River Valley as well as a hiring center and a Simmons care clinic dedicated to providing medical care with no added co-pays exclusively for our team members and their covered dependents.”
Simmons currently employs approximately 600 full-time team members in Van Buren. The operation consists of three production lines producing approximately 110 million pounds of fully cooked, premium chicken products annually. The expansion will increase annual production capacity by approximately 100 million pounds, the company said.
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