Dive Brief:
- Hillshire Brands, a Tyson Foods subsidiary, has announced a $28 million capital improvement project for its Tarboro, NC, plant.
- The plant expansion comes in response to increased demand for Hillshire products, including the Sara Lee baked goods manufactured at the plant, and includes adding lines to produce gluten-free and non-GMO waffles.
- The expansion is expected to add about 100 jobs to the 700 employees already working there.
Dive Insight:
Tyson has been shaking things up internally in the past year, having announced the pending closure of two prepared foods plants, which is expected to cost about 880 jobs, and a beef processing plant, which will cut another 400 jobs. The company is also expanding a Vienna, GA, plant to produce fresh tray-pack chicken for retail customers, which will create about 500 jobs.
Sara Lee became Hillshire Brands in 2012, and Hillshire Brands was then acquired by Tyson in 2014. The acquisition, which expanded Tyson's presence in packaged foods, has performed well for the company, having cited Hillshire as one reason for growth in an earnings report not long after the deal closed.
Tyson recently reported another year of record profit for the company, including strong growth in its chicken and pork segments. Tyson also boosted its estimates for cost-savings from the Hillshire deal, now expecting $500 million for fiscal 2016 and $700 million in 2017, up over $400 million in 2016 and $600 million in 2017, thanks to savings found in packaging and purchasing processes.