In December 2021, Minnesota– based company TFC Poultry LLC agreed to purchase a new facility in Winchester, Virginia after the Winchester Economic Development Authority (EDA) offered a $2.5 million financial incentive.
The 92,000–square–foot facility will be at 801 N. Kent St– an 8.36 acre parcel, on the north side of the city and, according to TFC Poultry, will cost $31.5 million to launch. It will primarily be for deboning turkey thigh meat and will also operate 24 hours a day.
The Winchester Development Services Director Shawn Hershberger believes that the facility will be good for the city’s economy as it is projected to create dozens of jobs and add thousands of dollars annually to the city’s tax base.
More specifically, according to TFC Poultry, the facility will create 111 jobs with an average annual salary of $51,315.
TFC Poultry originally agreed to the purchase of this facility after the Virginia governor’s office offered a $900,000 incentive– a $500,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund and a $400,000 grant from the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development (AFID) Fund. However, since then the EDA has argued for more incentives from various other sources.
$843,600 from the state of Virginia– $200,000 from the Enterprise Zone Real Property Investment Grant, $338,600 from the Enterprise Zone Job Creation Grant and $305,000 from the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program
$735,000 from the city of Winchester– $700,000 in rebates, a $10,000 grant for exterior improvements and a $25,000 grant for creating new jobs
The total comes out to just under $2.5 million.
However, these incentives do come with expectations. TFC Poultry will be required to invest at least $2.5 million into the Winchester facility and have at least 25 jobs by June 30, 2026. The company has also agreed to buy more than 100 million pounds of Virginia– raised turkey over the next four years.
