Tyson invests $200M in Texas beef plant expansion

Tyson Foods is spending $200 million to upgrade its beef facility in Amarillo, Texas, the company announced.

The expansion includes a 143,000-square-foot addition that increases the size of the facility’s existing operations floor and adds well-being areas for workers. It is expected to be completed in 2024. The project will not add new jobs to the plant, which currently employs 4,000 people, Tyson said.

The Amarillo plant is one of the largest of Tyson’s six beef facilities, and produces commodity cuts of fresh beef, specialty products and ground beef patties, the company said. The expansion will modernize the facility and support worker and food safety through the use of automation, according to Tyson.

“We’re committed to be the most sought-after place to work and while we’ve invested heavily in new benefits for our team, this project will improve the onsite work experience for our team members, while making our operations more efficient,” said Shane Miller, group president of fresh meats at Tyson.

The $200 million expansion is perhaps the biggest investment Tyson has made to one of its existing plants so far this year. In July, the company announced a $90 million investment in its Forest, Mississippi, plant, designed to increase chicken processing capacity. The meat giant also broke ground on a $180 million expansion of its prepared foods facility in Caseyville, Illinois, earlier this month.

In Tyson’s quarterly earnings call this month, CEO Donnie King said the company will have invested nearly $1.9 billion in fiscal year 2022 on expanding capacity and adding automation at its facilities. 

During the call, King said that CFO Stewart Glendinning said that beef sales were flat in the quarter compared to the same period last year, in part because of less demand for premium cuts of beef. However, beef sales were up 15% year-to-date. He said that global demand remains strong and that the company expects demand and beef volumes to improve in the final quarter of 2022, “as improved labor participation supports higher plant productivity.”