Perdue Foods, LLC has announced plans for a $10.9 million expansion to its Rockingham processing plant.
Julie DeYoung, Public Relations Consultant specializing in food and agriculture, told Daily Journal that Perdue has added a production line for making ground chicken for retail grocery stores, and that this expansion allows the company to produce a higher value product while also providing additional jobs.
This newest growth spurt will make room for at least 30 new workers over the next few years.
“We are pleased to continue to invest in the Rockingham facility and in our associates,” Kendall Casey, Perdue Foods’ Director of Operations in Rockingham, said in a statement. “This expansion will bring additional jobs and new capabilities to strengthen the Rockingham plant going forward. We appreciate the county and state’s support to help make this happen. Gov. (Pat) McCrory and Agriculture Commissioner (Steve) Troxler have been wonderful partners in this initiative.”
A partnership between a variety of state and local governments, the expansion project included assistance from:
While it was a joined effort to make the expansion possible, including a performance-based grant of up to $90,000 from the One North Carolina Fund, as well as a $1 million grant from the North Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority to Richmond County to assist with upgrades to a water treatment plant that serves Perdue Farms, Daily Journal reports that no money goes to companies upfront. They must also meet job creation and capital investment targets to qualify for grant funds.
With more than 3,400 employees in North Carolina, one of 27 states it operates in, Perdue is the largest private employer in Richmond County.
