TFC Poultry will invest $31.5 million to establish a new plant which will specialize in deboning turkey thigh meat for sale to food manufacturers.
The company will occupy the former Sunshine’s Pride Dairy facility in Winchester, Virginia. When the plant is fully operational, 111 jobs will be created.
With the new plant, TFC poultry will commit to purchase more than 100 million pounds of Virginia-grown turkey over the next four years.
TFC Poultry was founded in 2008 by brothers Darrin and Trent Froemming after they purchased and remodeled a local shuttered poultry plant in Ashby, Minnesota. The company uses specialized proprietary technology, along with x-ray and metal detection, for the safe and efficient deboning of turkey thighs. As the only third-party operation of its kind in the U.S., TFC Poultry has experienced increased demand for its products due to increased domestic demand for dark meat.
According to a press release from Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, TFC Poultry was also considering a location in West Virginia, but ultimately chose the location in Winchester.
“Virginia’s strong agriculture sector continues to play a critical role in the success of our booming economy,” said Northam. “We are pleased the company has chosen to establish its first East Coast facility right here in Virginia, and we look forward to all of its success in the future.”
“The company narrowed to this region due to the great access it offers to the I-81 corridor and to some of our key customers and suppliers,” said TFC Poultry CEO Darrin Froemming. “We specifically chose Winchester, Virginia, due to two primary factors: the first was the availability of all ranges of talent and that talent’s proximity to the new location; and the second reason was the embracing of progress the city demonstrated to the company throughout its due diligence stage. No other community held such an aggressive, yet genuinely welcoming reception.”
According to USDA data, Virginia is the nation's sixth largest turkey producer.
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the City of Winchester and the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to secure the project for Virginia. Gov. Northam approved 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 to assist the City of Winchester with the project. TFC Poultry is eligible to receive state benefits from the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program, administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.
