VAN BUREN, Ark. — Simmons Foods announced they plan to do a $100 million expansion of its prepared foods operation plant.
It is located at 2101 Twin Circle Drive in Van Buren, Ark.
Joel Sappenfield, President of Simmons Prepared Foods says “This investment will create 100 new jobs, including highly skilled positions to support robotics and automation processes. 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.”
The expansion consists of adding 65,000 square feet to the current plant. This will allow space for two new highly automated production and packaging lines, interior space for employees, and improved traffic flow in and around the site.
Simmons plans to break ground on the project this month and plans to have production online by the first quarter of 2023.
“We’re excited to build on our success in the region. 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.” added Sappenfield.
Simmons currently employs about 600 full-time employees at this location. The operation consists of three production lines, producing about 110 million pounds of fully cooked, premium chicken products per year. The expansion will increase annual production capacity by an estimated 100 million pounds.