Fieldale poultry plant expansion approved by county

Fieldale Farms plans to expand its poultry processing plant in Murrayville, Georgia, gained unanimous approval from the Hall County Board of Commissioners on August 9.

Yurii Bukhanovskyi, Bigstock
Yurii Bukhanovskyi, Bigstock

Fieldale Farms' plans to expand its poultry processing plant in Murrayville, Georgia, gained unanimous approval from the Hall County Board of Commissioners on August 9.

The expansion project calls for additions being made gradually between now and 2037. The company first made its plans for the expansion known in December 2017. At the time, it was announced that the expansion would allow the company to hire an additional 100 employees.

According to a report published by The Gainesville Times, the plant will nearly double in size, growing by about 200,000 square feet. There would also be the addition of 40,000 square feet in support buildings, which would include offices and a day care for the children of employees.

The Fieldale Farms plant has been operating as part of the company since 1964, and it has already undergone two expansions.

Fieldale Farms is headquartered in Baldwin, Georgia. John Wright, Fieldale Farms vice president of operations, told the commissioners that the expansion plans are being made because it wants to stay in Hall County. “We’re local. We’re not an international company or a company from other areas of the United States,” he said.

Fieldale Farms, according to the WATTAgNet Top Poultry Companies Database, is the 15th largest broiler company in the United States. In 2017, the company produced 16 million pounds of ready-to-cook chicken on a weekly basis. Sixty percent of the company’s sales are for retail, while 30 percent is for the foodservice channel and 10 percent is for export markets. The company has two slaughter plants and one further processing plant, as well as three hatcheries and two feed mills.

Tom Hensley, president of Fieldale Farms, was named chairman of the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association in January. He also previously served as chairman of the National Chicken Council, having been named to that position in 2009.

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