010131 Conagra May Rebuild Fire-Damaged Beef PlantJanuary 19, 2001Chicago - ConAgra Beef Company is considering rebuilding its fire-damaged beef plant at Garden City, Kan., but it will likely be April 1 before that decision is made, the company said. “We are not taking any options off the table. We are pursuing a rebuilding strategy,” said Bret Fox, spokesman for ConAgra Beef, a unit of ConAgra Foods Inc. The plant has been closed since a December 26 fire caused extensive damage to the facility. About 20% of the plant's hourly workers have been relocated to other ConAgra beef plants and other workers have been laid off. The plant employed about 2,300 people and had a daily cattle slaughter capacity of 4,400 head. Cattle slaughter and beef processing operations have been increased at ConAgra's three other beef plants to compensate for the loss at Garden City. “We've been running all of our facilities at full capacity including full double shifts on Saturday,” said Fox.
E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com |
