Swift to realign its Greeley production plant

GREELEY – Swift & Co. plans to realign operations at its Greeley processing plant, part of a company effort to expand its production of value-added products. As planned, the second shift at the Greeley plant will focus on the production of value-added products, such as beef cuts that are portioned and packaged for consumers.
Other value-added products developed recently by Swift are branded deli meats, and foods packaged for the Hispanic market.
Primary processing chores now conducted by the second shift in Greeley will be absorbed by other Swift plants in Grand Island, Neb., and Cactus, Texas, as well as the first shift at the Greeley plant. The Nebraska and Texas plants, as well as the first shift in Greeley, are currently operating under capacity.
The company is not certain how the changes would effect job numbers at each of the plants, but it will definitely expand work hours for the staffs in Nebraska, Texas and Greeley’s first shift. The total impact on jobs will be determined by the number of customer commitments Swift receives for the new line of value-added products, a Swift spokesman said today.
Currently, the Greeley plant employs about 2,500 production workers. The Nebraska plant employs a similar number and the Texas plant employs about 2,600.
The transition is scheduled to occur by Dec. 18, 2004, said John Simons, president and CEO of Swift & Co. The expansion of value-added products is “a perfect fit with our new Customer Solutions/R&D facility in Greeley, which will be completed in March 2005,” Simons said in a prepared statement.
“By making Swift & Company a more substantial user of the valuable raw materials we produce, we will strengthen our position in the marketplace and take a major step closer to our goal of being the world’s premier meat company,” Simons said.
The change at the Greeley plant will be modeled after similar changes at a Swift pork processing plant in Louisville, Ky.

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