Sanderson Farms chief executive Joe Sanderson told investors at the company’s annual investor day meeting that the company would like to move forward with plans to build a big-bird deboning plant in North Carolina if certain conditions are met.
Before breaking ground on a new plant, the company plans to pay down debt. In addition, before going forward, it will be necessary for feed costs to come down and political wrangling concerning the location of the plant would need to be resolved, Sanderson said in his remarks.
The earliest the company could foresee beginning construction would be in the fall of 2012, Sanderson said. He said the Rocky Mount, North Carolina site is the first choice for building a second North Carolina plant. However, the company is considering alternative locations. Wilson County, which opposed construction of the plant, has filed an appeal challenging a court victory by Nash County that could take up to a year to be heard, he added.
