Delaware Gov. Jack Markell and state officials announced that Mountaire Farms will invest approximately $34.5 million to expand its poultry complex in Millsboro. The plant will add 31 new jobs by December 2011for a total of 3600 Mountaire employees in Sussex County.
The new state-of-the-art Resource Recovery Center will convert waste into products for the poultry and commercial pet food industries, recycling feathers, carcasses and other processing leftovers. The company received an industrial expansion permit to build in the protected Coastal Zone. In exchange, Mountaire Farms says it will convert boilers from oil to natural gas, install odor controls and make wastewater treatment plant upgrades to cut pollution releases.
“Support for the Resource Recovery Plant project is paramount in solidifying Mountaire’s total integration poultry business in Delaware,” said Paul Downes, president of Mountaire Farms.
The Delaware Economic Development Office has offered a $787,500 grant from the Delaware Strategic Fund to assist with the development and construction of the new facility, a grant that must also be approved by the Council on Development Finance.
“The state’s support of this expansion would continue our commitment to this important sector of our economy, while helping to create jobs and make improvements to the environment. It is a solid investment in the future of our state,” said Delaware Economic Development Office Secretary, Alan Levin.
