Mountaire Farms is pleased to announce it has entered into an agreement to acquire the former Townsend processing plant and an adjoining property in Siler City, NC. Work will begin immediately to renovate and update this facility into a modern state-of-the-art food plant. This expansion will add over 500 jobs and will provide a significant contribution to the local economy. In addition to the permanent full time positions, the renovation process will provide employment opportunities for a multitude of skilled contractors and fabricators.
According to Paul Downes, President and CEO, "Mountaire Farms has a long tradition of producing high-quality poultry products for our domestic and international customers. The increasing demand for our products requires us to expand our production and we believe North Carolina is the perfect place for that growth. Mountaire has a deep rooted commitment to quality, service, and value and we look forward to growing our business in North Carolina and strengthening the ties we have with the local communities."
James Crawford, Chatham County Board of Commissioners Chair commented, "Chatham County is excited to hear that Mountaire Farms will be bringing a large poultry processing operation to Siler City, a community and region in tremendous need of jobs. We welcome them and extend the county’s support to making this happen as soon as possible. Mountaire Farms has a solid reputation for producing top quality fresh poultry and providing a supportive environment for workers and growers."
John Grimes, Siler City Mayor, said, "Today we got fabulous economic development news. This is the type of news we have long awaited and are quite excited about. Mountaire Farms is opening a fully-integrated operation in our community. It will mean many hundreds of jobs for our people, revitalize several existing structures, including the former Townsend plant as well as the former Kellwood (Glendale) plant, and infuse money, in the form of payroll and added services into our local economy. The addition of a significant corporate water patron is good news indeed, as it should stabilize local water rates for our local homeowners. I applaud and congratulate each and every one who has worked so diligently to make this fabulous news a reality for Siler City. We welcome Mountaire Farms and thank them for this vote of confidence in our community."
Chris Ehrenfeld, Chatham Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors Chair remarked, "These jobs will have a tremendously positive impact on Siler City and Chatham County. While Chatham County has a low unemployment rate as a whole, Siler City was hit hard during the recession. This investment is significant on our path to recovery and future growth."
Phillip Plylar, Mountaire's Executive Vice President of Sales and Operations, added, "Mountaire supplies products to market distribution channels in retail, wholesale, food service, and export. The demand for our products requires organized and planned growth and we believe this is a great opportunity to better service our customers."
As part of this acquisition, Mountaire will expand its newly acquired hatchery in Siler City, North Carolina and is currently looking for a suitable location to build a feed mill. Further, Mountaire is also interested in continuing to build on our relationships with local chicken producers and grain suppliers. Mountaire is a huge supporter of the poultry growing community and is a major purchaser of commodity grains including corn, soybeans, wheat, and barley.
About Mountaire Farms
Mountaire Farms is an agricultural food processing company with more than 6,500 employees at facilities in Delaware, Maryland and North Carolina. Mountaire Farms is a privately owned, Jesus-centered company with a commitment to the communities in which our employees work and live. For more information, visit www.mountaire.com.