Premium Iowa Pork Purchases HyLife Foods Windom Plant for $13 Million

June 6, 2023

Deal for bankrupt facility still needs court approval, but buyer has already said it will not retain the current workforce at the plant.

Andy Hanacek

A May 26 auction of the HyLife Foods pork processing plant in Windom, Minn., has produced a buyer, as Premium Iowa Pork bid $13 million to buy the facility, according to local news reports. The Iowa pork producer has said it will not retain any of the plant’s 1,000-plus employees.

The deal was still subject to court approval, as the HyLife Foods facility filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy about a month ago. HyLife Foods confirmed that it would be transporting H-2B visa workers back to their home countries — nearly 450 of them, according to court documents sourced in the article.

It was expected that details of the sale would be finalized in time for a June 9 hearing. The Hospers, Iowa-based fully integrated pork processor did not share its plans for the facility, which was purchased in 2016 by Minnesota businessman Glen Taylor and other investors from PM Beef and converted to pork processing. HyLife Foods purchased a 75% ownership stake in the plant in 2020.

Premium Iowa Pork also owns a venture in Luverne, Minn., called Premium Minnesota Pork, some 60 miles west of Windom.

About the Author

Andy Hanacek | Senior Editor

Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.