Tyson Foods Breaks Ground On $300M Eagle Mountain Plant
Oct 29, 2019, 8:48 PM | Updated: Oct 30, 2019, 10:44 am
EAGLE MOUNTAIN, Utah — Food giant Tyson broke ground on a $300 million dollar meat packaging plant in Eagle Mountain Tuesday.
Large cuts of beef and pork will come to the Eagle Mountain site from the Midwest to be processed into retail packages that will go to stores across the western United States.
“They’ll be all beef and pork products. So if you buy a tray of ribeye steaks or ground beef hamburger patties, those are the types of products we make of this operation. Retailers that buy product from us, it’ll go to their distribution centers and then they’ll send it out to their stores from their distribution location,” said Nathan Hodne, a senior vice president with Tyson foods.
City officials said they are thrilled. Tyson will be the largest employer in the area and a likely catalyst for more industrial development.
The facility will begin with 800 jobs and an annual payroll of $44 million, but the plant could expand up to 1,200 positions.
“Tyson will be on 800 acres out here, but considering the fact that Eagle Mountain is over 50 square miles, it’s a really small part of our city,” said Eagle Mountain Mayor Tom Westmoreland.
Tyson said it selected this location in Eagle Mountain because Utah has a vibrant workforce.
“We were looking for a good location to get product to the west coast and this is a great location in regards to getting trucks in with the raw material we need and finished products out to our customers. (It’s a) great growing area with people and we’ve really enjoyed the community,” Hodne added.
The company expects the plant to be up and running sometime in 2021.