990741 IBP Inc to Renovate BeefAmerica Plant

Chicago - IBP Inc. said it would renovate the former BeefAmerica Operating Co. plant in Norfolk, Nebraska, and start processing beef there by early 2000.

The company would eventually hire 1000 people to work at the plant, IBP said.

BeefAmerica closed the plant in July 1998, eliminating 1200 jobs, during a strike by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. The plant had been processing 2000 to 3000 head of cattle daily at time it was closed.

IBP bought the plant several months later and has been using its cold storage warehouse with a capacity of four million pounds. The warehouse employs 15 people.

IBP said it plans to begin renovation immediately. One shift of boxed beef production could start by the spring of 2000 with the hiring of about 500 people. A second shift of 500 will be added three to six months later.

The plant will be used primarily for processing beef from cattle slaughtered at other IBP plants, said Gene Leman, president of IBP's fresh meats division.

“Given this plant's proximity to other IBP facilities and our need for additional processing capacity, we believe it makes economic sense to bring processing work here,” Leman said in a statement.

The plant will produce a variety of beef items such as chucks, loins, ribs and ground beef for food retailers, distributors and wholesalers, restaurant and hotel chains and other food processors.

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