Tyson Foods to build cook plant in Virginia

Tyson Foods said it will invest $300 million to build a new cook plant in Danville, Va., and create nearly 400 jobs in the area when the project is operational in early 2023.

“As consumers actively look to add more protein to their diets, Tyson is uniquely positioned as a category leader to meet that growing demand,” said Noelle O’Mara, president, Prepared Foods for Tyson Foods. “Our continued focus on consumer driven innovation will accelerate this momentum and our investment in Danville-Pittsylvania County will help drive the long-term growth of the iconic Tyson brand.”

The plant will be 325,000 square feet and primarily be used for the production of fully-cooked Tyson brand chicken products, including Any’tizer Snacks and Chicken Nuggets. The company said it has committed to purchase 60 million pounds of Virginia-grown chicken over the next three years in connection with the project.

Tyson said it employs roughly 2,000 people in Virginia with an annual payroll of $76 million. Tyson also has two other processing plants in Virginia and it paid growers there more than $37 million last year.

Shares of Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) closed Thursday at $78.10, down 61 cents. For the past 52 weeks the share price has ranged between $55.82 and $82.45.