Dive Brief:
- JBS USA said it would spend $135 million to build a sausage plant in Perry, Iowa, as rising pork demand fuels sales at the world’s largest meat company.
- The facility, which is expected to start operations in late 2026, plans to produce 130 million pounds of sausage each year. The plant will create 500 jobs.
- Brazil-based JBS is expanding its U.S. presence as it prepares to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange. The company also said in February it would spend $200 million to expand beef production at facilities in Texas and Colorado.
Dive Insight:
JBS is aggressively investing in its manufacturing footprint as it aspires to be “America’s leading food producer.”
“This investment [in Iowa] underscores our commitment to rural America and our confidence in the strength of the U.S. market,” Wesley Batista Filho, CEO of JBS USA, said in a statement.
JBS’ planned listing of its shares and U.S. expansion have come under fire from environmentalists and Democratic lawmakers. They warn the meat giant has a long history of ties to deforestation, child labor and other corporate violations.
The company's recent U.S. investments could assuage some of those concerns, with JBS touting the plans as a way to strengthen rural communities and economic development.
Notably, the decision to build in Perry comes more than a year after Tyson Foods shuttered a pork plant in the Iowa city and laid off more than 1,200 workers.
Tyson’s layoffs sparked pushback from local and federal officials, and the plant remains dormant as the city considers future development opportunities.
In addition to replacing some of those jobs, JBS’ investment also presents new opportunities for pork producers who lost business from Tyson’s exit. The JBS factory is expected to process 500,000 sows a year.
“We’re excited to see continued investment in Iowa’s pork industry with the proposed opening of this new processing facility,” Aaron Juergens, a pig farmer from Carroll, Iowa, and president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association, said in a statement.
As the meat giant plots its U.S. expansion, the company reported rising pork sales as consumers searched for cheaper alternatives to beef. During the first quarter, profits surged 50% year over year, with JBS USA posting a 5% revenue increase in its pork segment.
