Photo courtesy of Envato Elements
From staff reports
South Dakota and South Carolina-based Kingsbury & Associates have announced that they will be constructing a 1-million-square-foot meat processing plant near Rapid City, South Dakota. The proposed plant aims to be the sing-largest beef processing plant in the U.S. The plant will have the capacity to process 8,000 head of cattle a day as well as be able to process bison. In addition to being the largest meat processor once completed in three years, it will be “It’s privately held, privately funded within the U.S. — all-American first,” according to Mehan Kingsbury, president and managing partner of Kingsbury & Associates said. The plant is projected to employ about 2,500 people and cost around$1.1 a billion to build. Kingsbury said the packing plant would pull in technology experts from South Dakota engineering and mining schools to build a high-tech facility “never seen before in the United States.” The goal would be to attract young people to work and live in the Rapid City area.
Cargill, JBS, National Beef, and Tyson process about 5,000-6,000 head of cattle a day for comparison sake.
In a news release, Kingsbury said, “Our aim is to restore competition in American meat processing.” She added, “I am a 5th generation producer from western South Dakota, and I know how difficult it is right now for us as producers to be profitable. I want to fix that. We want to compete with the big four meatpacking giants and be that all-important “second bidder” in the cash market. We will build a brand that is America first focusing on procuring American cattle and feeding American citizens affordable, high-quality protein as our first priority. Our grocery store shelves should never be empty of meat again.”
The company is currently working to build relationships with area packers. She says that they will have a five-state region to draw from. They are also working with South Dakota lawmakers to get involved with economic development programs and plan to use new technology that will enable them to employ fewer people with higher pay rates. Being a real estate investment and development company, Kingsbury has experience in manufacturing and capital development.