Cargill : increases grinding capacity for Eastern U.S. beef customers

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) January 31, 2018 - Cargill Protein is investing $4.2 million at its Columbia, S.C. plant to expand grinding capabilities for beef customers across the eastern U.S. The investment includes precision grinding equipment that assures consistent, high-quality ground beef products for customers. Once installed in May 2018, the equipment expands the plant's production by 15 percent, allowing the plant to produce enough ground beef to meet customer growth.

'Cargill purchased the Columbia facility in 2016 and today we have more than 200 Columbia employees delivering high-quality beef to our U.S. customers. This investment shows our commitment to the beef industry in the Eastern U.S. and allows us to deliver on the increasing needs of beef customers in the region, through the installation of higher performance production technologies,' said John Keating, president, business operations and supply chain, Cargill Protein.

The investment is one more way Cargill is growing to meet the needs of its North American meat customers. Cargill Protein has invested approximately $850 million over the past two years across the U.S. and Canada, including a $111 million cooked meats plant conversion in Nebraska, $27 million egg processing facility expansion in Michigan, $50 million distribution center at its Kansas beef plant, $146 million expansion of a cooked meats facility in Tennessee, and acquisitions of meat processing facilities in Texas, South Carolina and Tennessee.