Tyson to Sell Two Plants in Alabama
As part of strategic efforts to reduce the production of fresh, commodity chicken, Tyson Foods Inc. plans to sell its poultry plants in Ashland and Gadsden, Ala., to Koch Foods Incorporated. The sale will include a feed mill in Talladega and hatcheries in Fair Knoll and Empire. Terms of the proposed transaction are not being released; however, the companies indicate they hope to complete the deal by the end of May. Tyson began reassessing the future of these Alabama operations last year after fire destroyed the company's poultry processing plant in Heflin. This led to a discussion with Koch, which has been a long-time, primary customer of the Heflin and Ashland plants, and more recently, the Gadsden facility, which has not been operating at full capacity due to production cuts Tyson initiated in 2006.