Last week, Tyson Foods broke ground on its new $355 million bacon production facility in Bowling Green, KY. The new operation will create 450 jobs in Warren County, and meet growing demand for the company’s products.
“This is a historic day for Tyson Foods as we invest to meet the continued growth of our iconic Wright and Jimmy Dean brands,” said Noelle O’Mara, group president of Prepared Foods for Tyson Foods. “We’re grateful for the opportunity to build on our successful relationship with the state of Kentucky and look forward to contributing to the community in Bowling Green and Warren County.”
The 400,000-square-foot manufacturing operation in the Kentucky Transpark represents the single largest investment in a new facility in Bowling Green. The new Tyson location will produce Jimmy Dean and Wright brand bacon, known globally for its hand trimmed and thick cut, real wood smoked bacon. Production is expected to begin in late 2023.
“Tyson Foods announced this tremendous investment in Warren County just over three months ago, and I am thrilled to join the company’s leaders for today’s groundbreaking as they quickly move forward with the project,” said Governor Andy Beshear. “This commitment to create hundreds of jobs in Bowling Green is amazing news for the workforce throughout the region and builds on Tyson’s already impressive presence in our state. I look forward to our continued growth together.”
Tyson Foods produces a wide variety of pork, chicken and beef products and maintains a prepared foods operation in Claryville and poultry operations in Albany and Robards. The company currently employs more than 3,900 people throughout Kentucky.
Tyson’s latest facility builds on Kentucky’s growing food, beverage and agritech industry, which includes more than 350 facilities and employs over 52,000 Kentucky residents. Since the start of 2020, new location and expansion projects within the sector are expected to create more than 2,600 full-time jobs with over $1.8 billion in new investments. The project also contributes to the commonwealth’s nearly 5,000 manufacturing facilities statewide, which employ more than 250,000 Kentuckians.
To encourage investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in October 2021 preliminarily approved a performance-based incentive agreement with Tyson Foods under the Kentucky Business Investment program.
Additionally, KEDFA approved Tyson for tax incentives through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act (KEIA). KEIA allows approved companies to recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures, equipment used in research and development and electronic processing.
By meeting its annual targets over the agreement term, the company can be eligible to keep a portion of the new tax revenue it generates. The company may claim eligible incentives against its income tax liability and/or wage assessments.
In addition, Tyson can receive resources from Kentucky’s workforce service providers. Those include no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job-training incentives.
“I’m excited that Tyson Foods has chosen to invest in our community and want to thank its leaders and our local and state economic development officials for working together to make this possible,” said Warren County Judge/Executive Mike Buchanon. “This groundbreaking today is further proof that our community has so much to offer businesses – from a diverse and highly trained workforce to a quality of life that is second to none.”
“It’s always an exciting day when we can celebrate a company’s commitment to impactful job creation and investment in the region,” said John Bradley, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) senior vice president of economic development. “TVA, along with our partners Warren Rural Electric Cooperative Corp., the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development and the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce are proud to support companies like Tyson Foods and look forward to its future business success in the commonwealth.”
