Allen Harim announced on Tuesday that it will consolidate its processing operation to one central location, leading to the closure of a plant in Cordova, Maryland in July. According to Steve Evans, CEO of Allen Harim, a combination of factors contributed to the decision, including the age of the facility; a shift in the company’s product mix; and a desire to improve the company’s competitive position in order to assure greater efficiency.
The Cordova processing facility was built in 1945 by Cordova Poultry Company and purchased by the former Allen Family Foods in 1971. It was later owned by Esskay, and then leased to Ralston-Purina. In the last two decades, it has processed about 600,000 chickens a week, primarily rotisserie chicken and whole bird packaging, for markets in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Much of the processing equipment will be moved to the company’s Harbeson, Delaware facility in the coming months.
The closure will impact approximately 300 employees at the Cordova facility, who will be offered jobs at the company’s other locations including a hatchery, feed mill, and truck shop in Seaford, a hatchery in Dagsboro, and main processing facility in Harbeson, Delaware.
“We are very grateful to our Cordova-based employees, some of whom have been with us for a very long time,” said Evans. “We will do everything possible to help them continue their employment with us, or to help them find other opportunities.”
Allen Harim announced last month that it will provide 100-percent vegetarian feed for its birds. It also announced that its signature brand, Nature’s Sensation®, would now be positioned as “no antibiotics ever.”
“We’ve worked very hard over the past three years to take this company in a new and focused direction and to return it to a profitable operation that will continue to grow and employ people on Delmarva,” Evans added. “We are following a strategic plan that achieves our goal of a sustainable company moving forward.”
