Perdue Farms, one of the nation’s leading poultry companies, will upgrade its existing facility to support the addition of a new processing line to increase its capacity to produce sliced, deli-style meats primarily for foodservice operators. The company, which shelved plans to eliminate some jobs at the facility, will not only maintain those positions, but through retraining and new hires will create 407 jobs by the time the new processing line begins operation in mid-November.

Perdue’s Monterey facility currently employs 1,806 workers.

George Rawlston, Vice President of Prepared Foods Operations for Perdue Farms, said the company’s partnership with the State of Tennessee was one of the main reasons behind the decision to site the slicing operation at its Monterey plant.

“Today’s announcement is about more than bricks, mortar and machinery,” said Rawlston. “Perdue is making this $17 million investment in Middle Tennessee in part because of a partnership with the State of Tennessee. That partnership means employment for 407 people. Perdue Farms knows it has a great work force here in Middle Tennessee.”

The State of Tennessee provided more than $1.2 million in training assistance for new and existing employees through ECD’s FastTrack Job Training Program and through the Department of Labor’s career centers network. Additional state support came through jobs tax credits, applicant screening services and a recruitment campaign. The local community offered tax abatements totaling $501,716 and on-site wastewater improvements totaling $37,500.

The expansion includes construction of a 16,000 square foot addition to the plant and conversion of 15,000 square feet of existing space. The completed operation will have the capability to produce up to 35 million pounds of sliced meats per year.