Peco Foods has announced that it has completed work on a $28 million state-of-the-art feed mill in Lake, Mississippi.Company officials met this week with economic development leaders, lawmakers, and industry representatives to formally introduce the new facility, which is already producing 8,800 tons of broiler feed each week.
“This is a significant expansion for Peco Foods, and we are extremely pleased that we got the new Lake mill fully operational ahead of our original timeline,” said Peco Chief Executive Officer Mark A. Hickman. “As we meet the needs of our company’s growing customer base, the ability to transfer large shipments of mill ingredients more efficiently is essential.”
Peco Foods announced the construction project in September 2010, and the first load of feed from the Lake facility was shipped in January of this year. Production reached single-shift capacity in February, and a second shift began operating at the Lake mill in early March. The new Lake mill replaces Peco Foods’ original facility at Sebastopol, Mississippi, where feed manufacturing ended in early February.
The next phase in the company’s expansion at the Lake site will be the construction of a 110-car rail track, which is scheduled to be operational in August, Hickman said. The company, headquartered in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has production facilities now in Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas, with its acquisition last year of the Townsends complex in Batesville, Arkansas.
