by Ben Nuelle
Source: Wikipedia Commons
A North Carolina pork processing company hopes to build a 600,000 square foot facility in Mason City.
Prestage Farms of North Carolina wants to build a $240 million pork processing plant just south of Mason City.The 600,000 square foot plant expects to provide jobs to 1,000 employees.
Pork producer Trent Thiele of Northeast Iowa supports building the plant.
?I think it?s a very good deal. Whenever there is an increase in competition for hogs, producers win.?
Mason City Mayor Eric Bookmeyer says the city is always trying to attract agribusiness.
?We have tremendous group of partners in this region and we understand agribusiness fuels our cities, our schools etc. So this processing plant is really a nice fit,? Bookmeyer says.
The proposed plant is expected to process 600 million pounds of pork annually. CEO of North Iowa Corridor EDC Chad Schreck says Mason City has been working with Prestage Farms for the last four months.
?Had several other communities vying for this opportunity and they told us they just kept coming back to Mason City. Even logistically it was not the best location for them and we weren?t even offering as much as some of the other communities but they came to us and said look we want to make a forty to fifty-year decision here. They said this is a huge investment for our company. We just believe Mason City gives us the best opportunity,? Schreck says.
Construction on the project is expected to begin this summer.
