Peco Foods Adding 300 Jobs In Independence County

Peco Foods announced it will expand a feed mill in Newark and a processing plant in Batesville. The expansions will add 300 jobs to the two plants, bringing total employment in Independence County to 866. In addition, the company plans to invest a new $13.8 million in the two facilities.

“Peco Foods’ expansion into Arkansas was an excellent decision for us and we look forward to a long and successful partnership with the City of Batesville and the State,” said Mark Hickman, President and CEO of Peco Foods.

Peco Foods is the eighth largest poultry processor in the U.S., processing more than 4.2 million birds and 22 million pounds of ready-to-cook poultry each week, according to the company.

“The expansion of Peco Foods further illustrates Northeast Arkansas’s growing influence in the food-processing sector,” Gov. Mike Beebe said. “Peco’s success will draw even more interest in Batesville, both as a community and as the home of an effective workforce.”

Peco Foods, Inc. is a third generation, family-owned business founded in the late 1930s by John Herman Hickman.  It is headquartered in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.