Swift Prepared Foods’ Italian Meats and Charcuterie Production Facility, Columbia, Missouri, USA

The facility will support the company’s strategic commitment to grow its business, strengthen its catering efficiency to customers, provide increased opportunities for its team, and realise the full potential of protein.

The company had revealed its intention to build the greenfield ready-to-eat facility in August 2020, with an estimated investment of $200m. The investment is a part of the company’s long-term strategy to increase its value-added portfolio with on-trend products.

The new facility is anticipated to begin production by the fourth quarter of 2022.

Location of the new production facility

JBS USA subsidiary, Swift Prepared Foods’ new Italian meats and charcuterie production facility will be located on 80 acres (32.37ha) of land in an industrial corridor at 5008 Paris Road, on Route B north of Highway 63, in Columbia.

The site was strategically selected due to its favourable location, business-friendly environment, accessibility to raw materials, and potential to harness Swift’s existing strategic assets.

Details of the Swift Prepared Food production facility development

The new production facility will be built on a 325,000ft² area, including 26,000ft² of expandable shell space. It is expected to be completed in a phased manner over multiple years.

Phase one of the project includes real estate acquisition, the construction of a new 275,000ft^² manufacturing facility, and the purchase of new manufacturing machinery and equipment, with an estimated investment of $150m.

Phase two of the project will include the expansion of the manufacturing facility to up to 325,000ft², with an estimated additional investment of $35m within the first five years of operation.

The new Italian meats and charcuterie production facility will produce dry-cured sausages and other conventional Italian meat products such as salami, pepperoni, prosciutto, and pancetta to be distributed across the US.

Features of the new Swift Prepared Food production facility

The new state-of-the-art facility will feature a broad spectrum of facilities including product manufacturing, automated product handling via robotics and automated guided vehicles (AGVs), slicing, packaging, and palletising.

In addition to production space, warehouse and offices, the facility will also feature a research and development test kitchen.

A sewer main extension will be constructed for the facility to merge the company’s sewer service line to the sewer main.

Utility details

The annual electrical usage of the plant will reach approximately 35 million kWh when fully operational. The peak daily water usage and daily sewer usage at the facility can each reach up to 400 gallons per minute.

Regional benefits of Swift’s meats production facility

Swift’s new Italian meats and charcuterie production facility is expected to create approximately 250 new jobs in the region. The company has availed the Missouri Works programme, an incentive that helps companies expand and retain workers by providing access to capital through withholdings or tax credits to create jobs.

Swift also partnered with Missouri One Start to secure tailored recruitment assistance in meeting its specific workforce requirements.

The company secured unanimous approval from the Boone County Commission for tax incentives for the development of the facility in April 2021.

It will pay property taxes of approximately $3.2m to Columbia Public Schools, $213,747 to the city of Columbia, $160,599 to the Columbia Library District, $62,894 to the county’s general fund and $26,218 to its Road and Bridge Fund, and $59,533 to Boone County Family Resources over the next ten years.

Contractors involved

Swift had selected Stellar, a construction company based in Florida, to design and build the new production facility. Its scope of work includes project management, utility and mechanical, refrigeration, and process engineering services.

Marketing commentary

Incorporated in 1932, Swift Prepared Foods, formerly Plumrose USA, was established as a small meat market in 1855 by Gustavus Franklin Swift. The company was previously a subsidiary of Danish Crown Group and was acquired by Brazil’s JBS Group for $230m in 2017.

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the company has several production facilities globally. Besides the new production facility in Columbia, Swift Prepared Foods is constructing a facility in Moberly, Missouri, with an investment of $68m, which is expected to begin production in May 2021. It will produce ready-to-eat, fully-cooked bacon and will create 200 new jobs in the city.