Tyson Foods has broken ground on a new $355 million bacon processing plant in Bowling Green, Ky.
The 400,000-sq.-ft. facility will employ 450 people and “will feature the latest robotics and automated technologies to maximize production efficiency and team member safety,” according to a Tyson release. It will process bacon under the Wright and Jimmy Dean brands.
Tyson announced plans for the new plant only about three months ago. The project is the second recent bacon-related capital project for Tyson. In January 2021, the company announced a $25 million expansion for a plant in Vernon, Texas, that processes Wright bacon. At that time, Tyson noted that demand for bacon has grown 18% by volume since 2017, and the Wright brand has grown 29% during that time.
“This is a historic day for Tyson Foods as we invest to meet the continued growth of our iconic Wright and Jimmy Dean brands,” said Noelle O’Mara, Tyson’s group president of prepared foods, said in the statement.
