Cargill is investing $111 million to convert its ground beef plant at Columbus, Neb., to a cooked meats facility and relocate ground beef production currently taking place there. The converted plant will give the company capabilities it currently does not possess to produce specific types of cooked meat products for its customers. The conversion will begin in early December 2015, with cooked meat production scheduled to start in mid-2016. Ground beef production currently taking place at Columbus will be relocated to existing processing facilities at Butler, Wis., and Forth Worth, Texas.
“This project, especially the investment we’re making in Columbus, is significant and exciting, and it represents our long-term commitment to current and future Cargill customers, as well as to the community,” explained John Niemann, president of Wichita, Kansas-based Cargill Turkey and Cooked Meats. “When completed, our Columbus plant will give us a variety of cooked meat processing capabilities we currently don’t have, and those new capabilities will provide our customers with more options to help them grow their businesses.”