Tyson Foods has inaugurated a $300 million plant in Danville, VA. to prepare fully cooked products. The plant will incorporate a high degree of mechanization for optimal efficiency. The facility will extend over 325,000 sq. ft. and will create 400 new jobs.
Donnie King, president and CEO of Tyson Foods stated, “The Danville plant represents a significant commitment to the region, and we take our responsibility to enhance the communities where we live and work seriously. This plant is also a significant step forward in our ongoing goal of operational excellence by investing in innovative technology and automation”.
Features of the plant include high-speed case packing with robotics, machine vision inspection of products including metal detection. Workers will be equipped with armband devices that will detect and transmit any physical stress to receptors monitored by safety managers.
West Morris, Group President for Poultry at Tyson Foods stated, “The Danville plant incorporates the latest technology that brings real-time intelligence to our processes, products and workplace experience benefitting all team members.”
To ensure that workers have adequate training and opportunity for advancement, Tyson Foods has partnered with the Danville Community College to develop a training program in maintenance technology in addition to other skills.
In a side interview with media, Donnie King opined that Tyson became comfortable with high market demand and ability to maintain pricing pressure over the COVID pandemic period. This created a culture of inefficiency that he characterized as “fat and lazy”. The recent downturn in net earnings for the most recent quarter of fiscal 2023 justified extreme action taken by the company including plant closures and layoffs and consolidation to achieve efficiency. This approach also included centralizing the management of all of Tyson Foods operating segments at the corporate campus in Springdale, AR.