Brazilian meat giant JBS has revealed another US plant investment, taking this year’s total outlay to more than $800m.
JBS is acquiring a facility in Ankeny, Iowa, previously owned by the retail chain Hy-Vee, and plans to spend $100m to purchase the site and kit it out for the production of bacon and sausage.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The 186,000 square-foot factory will be the “largest ready-to-eat bacon and ready-to-eat sausage plant in the company’s US portfolio”, the listed business said in a statement late yesterday (13 August).
Post investment and completion of upgrading, JBS added that around 400 jobs will be created at the site once fully operational, which is expected by mid-2026. The company will seek to hire former Hy-Vee workers who were employed at the plant, it said, without providing any numbers.
“Today’s announcement aligns with our long-term strategy of offering more value-added and prepared-foods products to meet the needs of our customers and consumers,” Wesley Batista Filho, the CEO of JBS’s US division, said.
“We are proud to grow our operations in Iowa, where we already operate four production facilities, with another expected to break ground later this year.”
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataJBS revealed last month a $400m investment by its US-based subsidiary Pilgrim’s Pride for a new prepared-foods facility in Walker County, Georgia.
Again in Iowa, the meat major announced a $135m project in May for a new sausage plant to be run by its US business unit, JBS USA.
Two beef facilities were the recipients of a planned $200m investment, unveiled in February, in the US states of Texas and Colorado.
“This facility in Ankeny will not only expand our prepared-foods business in the US, it will also benefit from synergies and strategic supply of product from our other plants in the region,” Rick Foster, head of prepared foods at the US division, added yesterday.
JBS also announced its second-quarter results alongside the latest Iowa plant investment.
Revenue climbed 8.9% to $20.9bn from the same quarter a year earlier.
Adjusted EBITDA fell 7.4% to $1.8bn and the margin dropped 140 basis points to 8.4% on an IFRS basis. Net income surged more than 60% to $528m.
JBS completed its additional listing on the New York Stock Exchange in June, whereby it is now listed in both the US and Brazil.
