According to the Tyler Morning Telegraph, despite rain and snow this winter, a major poultry producer that has been seeking to expand in Smith County, Texas, says it will open right on time.
Sanderson Farms, Laurel, MS, has started construction and is on track to open a processing plant in Tyler, TX, a new hatchery in Lindale and a feed mill in Mineola in the first quarter of 2019.
That’s according to Pic Billingsley, the director of development and engineering for the company. He said he does not expect the recent heavy rainfall to delay the project.
“Everyone who lives in that area knows we’ve had a lot of weather conditions to overcome in February due to rain, but we’re getting back on track now,” Billingsley said. “We’ve gotten pretty weather the last week and we’re making progress.
“We’re encouraged by the quality of the people in Smith County and we want to get it built and get (the facilities) in operation so we can start generating revenue in another location in Texas,” he said.
Officials throughout Smith County have been anticipating the new investment from Sanderson Farms, a publicly traded company based in Mississippi and the third-largest poultry producer in the country.
Sanderson Farms has a market capitalization of $2.8 billion and sells its products in grocery stores throughout the United States. One of its key vendors in East Texas will be John Soules Foods, which specializes in pre-packaged food.
Read the full report here.
