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| BPI
expansion will be largest ever in Nebraska |
| (SIOUX
CITY JOURNAL, December 2006) |
| BACK
TO THE BPI INDEX |
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Looking to
take its globally renowned lean beef operations to the next level,
Beef Products Inc. announced a $400 million expansion of its complex
in South Sioux City.
The massive project, expected to create 300 high-paying jobs by
2010, would be the largest single investment in Nebraska history,
according to state and local officials.
"This is a great, great Christmas present," Nebraska Gov.
Dave Heineman told an audience of more than 200 who gathered in the
Marina Center for the highly anticipated late afternoon
announcement.
Using its unique technology and equipment, BPI intends to begin
producing a new lean ground beef product with a fat content of just
5 percent, roughly one-fifth that of ordinary hamburger. BPI's
patented grinding cuts fat without sacrificing taste, retaining the
beef's natural juices and flavor.
Following the official announcement, the firm treated guests to
grilled burgers made from the lean beef.
With health-conscious consumers increasingly demanding low-fat
products, the BPI venture holds the promise of revolutionizing the
restaurant and food service industries.
"We're betting a lot of our company's future on it," CEO
Eldon Roth, who founded BPI in 1981 with his wife, Regina, said in
an interview following the announcement.
"When you talk about capital investment and jobs, those are
very lofty numbers," said Siouxland Chamber of Commerce
president Debi Durham said. "But when you really think of the
impact this company has on the marketplace, not only nationally but
internationally, it is in some ways mind boggling.
"I absolutely believe they will create a new economy within
this meat industry, a new economy in which they are going to
own," Durham added.
BPI, whose products are found in 80 percent of the U.S. domestic
ground beef supply, for years has teamed with quick-service
restaurants like McDonald's, supplying lean boneless trimmings that
are turned into beef patties. Through the natural pH levels created
in its patented processes, BPI guarantees its products to be free of
any bacteria, such as E-coli.
Regina Roth, BPI's secretary/treasurer, said the new investment will
allow the company for the first time to produce its own lean beef
products, everything from patties to meatballs to pizza toppings,
rather than simply supply ingredients to other companies.
"We have the technology right now to make this 5 percent beef,
but we don't have our own ground beef facility," she said in an
interview.
BPI currently operates five plants in the Midwest and Southwest,
including its flagship plant in South Sioux City. About 300 people
work at the South Sioux complex, which also includes a cold storage
facility and machine assembly shop. Another 150 are employed at
BPI's corporate offices in Dakota Dunes, where the Roths moved the
headquarters from Amarillo, Texas in 1993.
The expansion is on top of some $350 million BPI has invested in the
tri-state region, including a recent expansion of the existing South
Sioux complex. The Roths also have personally shared their good
fortune, contributing to a number of civic and charitable endeavors.
BPI will expand on a 57-acre site just north of existing South Sioux
City facilities, along Dakota Avenue on the south end of town. The
first phase, set to begin in early 2007, calls for a $20 million
cooked meats and pizza toppings initiative designed to open new
markets for the company's product lines. The company then will spend
$15 million to $20 million for a utilities facility that will
improve operations.
The company next will construct a $175 million facility to produce
the 5 percent ground beef. That phase is expected to create the
first 100 new jobs. Company executives have not decided whether to
market the new line of beef independently or through a co-packing
alliance with another food company.
The final phase will involve construction of a production facility
in which beef will be injected with flavor enhancements that also
improve the safety of the product. An additional 200 jobs will be
created through that segment, which has an estimated investment of
up to $200 million.
Construction represents about $100 million of the total estimated
investment of $400 million, which also includes equipment and
technology. That represents the largest single investment in
Nebraska, right ahead of a bank built in Omaha, said South Sioux
City administrator Lance Hedquist.
Eldon Roth said the biggest challenge will be to recruit enough
trained employees to complete the expansion.
"The money, the technology and the opportunity are all
there," Eldon Roth said. "The challenge for our company is
the people to get it done.
"BPI is expanding in Siouxland because we believe the best
chance of getting the required work force is here," he told the
audience.
Area colleges and universities have pledged to help train
prospective workers, who will need mechanical, computer and other
technology skills. Presidents from Wayne State College, Northeast
Community College, Briar Cliff University, Morningside College and
Western Iowa Tech Community College were among those on hand for
Tuesday's announcement.
Local officials said they expect BPI's unprecedented expansion to
reverberate throughout the tri-state economy. The new jobs, with
annual salaries starting at around $40,000 and stretching into the
six-figure range, are expected to bring scores of new residents to
the area and convince many existing workers to change jobs.
"I've got a message for Nebraskans, 'If you're looking for a
good job, come up here and see BPI,'" Gov. Heineman told the
audience.
Despite a metro area unemployment rate that has fallen below 4
percent, Durham predicted BPI would have little trouble filling its
new positions.
"They will be able to choose who they want to work for
them," she said. "What Eldon and Regina have done -- they
have created this culture that is very appealing to workers, with
great opportunity for advancement."
BPI's expansion also is expected to create hundreds of construction
jobs over the next three to five years. In addition, new trucking
firms and some related industries likely will locate in South Sioux
City to be near BPI's new facilities, said city administrator Lance
Hedquist, who mentioned the city is currently in talks with some new
prospects.
The BPI site is part of a new 500-acre industrial park. City
officials announced the park will be named the
Roth Industrial Park.
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