The new CEO of a shuttered beef plant in Aberdeen, S.D. said that he is optimistic about the plant’s future and hopes to eventually employ nearly 600 people there, while processing up to 1,000 head of cattle per day. Doug Cooper, CEO of what is now called the New Angus plant, told the Aberdeen American News that he is working on a five-year business plan that will restore production to the plant that has been idled since 2012.
“I can tell you this — we have a world-class facility,” Cooper said. “We have people in the building now who are checking everything out, making sure things are in place mechanically and on the electrical side and in other areas. We’re not interested in being high-profile. I don’t want to be in the Wall Street Journal — I just want to establish a sustainable business.”