Headline: Cornerstone Processing to reopen chicken processing plant
Byline: By Ray King of The Commercial Staff
After being shut down for an extended period of time, the chicken processing plant on West 2nd Avenue is getting new owners and new lease on life.
On Friday, Cornerstone PB Holdings LLC and Cornerstone Processing LLC announced they will reopen the plant, creating up to 150 new jobs during the initial wave of hiring.
“We are thrilled to announce that at lost last, we will be opening Cornerstone Processing for business in the very near future,” Ashley Dugas, a partner in Cornerstone said. “We are committed to being an outstanding corporate citizen who gives back to Pine Bluff and surrounding communities by providing employment for hundreds of people and fostering positive relationships at the local, regional and state levels.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Dugas and Stacey Kesler, who has been hired as plant manager, attended a meeting of the Economic Development Corp., of Jefferson County, more commonly called the tax board Friday morning. At that meeting, the board voted unanimously to approve an incentive package of $173,875 for Cornerstone. That incentive package includes $1,000 per job for 150 full time jobs with an average hourly wage or $12.07 that the company pledges to create for a total of $150,000. Also, the company will receive $23,875, or $5,000 for each $1 million invested in property, buildings, equipment installation, improvements and other projects.
Kesler has more than 10 years of experience in the poultry processing industry, most recently as plant manager at Water Valley Poultry in Water Valley, Mississippi. He said Friday he expected the plant to open in February.
According to a press release from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, Cornerstone has already undertaken significant improvements and renovations to the plant, including the construction of a holding area with capacity to temporarily hold up to eight truckloads of live hens in a covered and cooled environment.
Allison Thompson, the President/CEO of the Economic Development Alliance for Jefferson County said her agency has “worked closely with Cornerstone executives as they work to get the plant ready for production. “We are excited about new production in the facility and the jobs that will be created. It has been a pleasure working with Cornerstone and we look forward to welcoming them to the community.”
In the press release, Mike Preston, the Arkansas Secretary of Commerce said “it’s great to see a former plant brought back to life in an industry that has a ready workforce in Pine Bluff and the surrounding communities. Cornerstone is ready to make a successful go of it and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission is proud to have been a part of bringing the project to the area.”
Also according to the press release, Cornerstone will begin accepting employment applications at the plant beginning Dec. 16 and will conduct an on-site job fair in partnership with the Economic Development Alliance. The date for that job fair will be announced in the coming weeks.