Poultry producers buy Batesville plant
Rogers-based Ozark Mountain Poultry said Thursday that it has finalized its purchase of a poultry plant in Batesville that will employ 250 when it opens Nov. 11.
The plant’s former owner, Colorado-based Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., told its more than 470 workers in August it would stop production at the poultry processing plant in 60 days. At the time, Ozark Mountain Poultry’s parent company, OMP Foods was negotiating to buy the plant.
Ozark Mountain Poultry produces more than 1.5 million pounds of hand-deboned, antibiotic-free poultry a week aimed at the restaurant industry and for use in its consumer brand, Forester Farmer’s Market.
The addition of the Batesville plant will allow the company to double weekly production.
According to a release, the company anticipates hiring more workers as production capacity at the plant increases.
In Arkansas, poultry giant Pilgrim’s Pride has a single a plant in De Queen that employs nearly 1,500. In 2008, Pilgrim’s Pride closed a processing plant in Clinton and in 2009 closed a processing plant in El Dorado. It also recently closed a rendering plant in that city.
- John Magsam
Truck, bus dealers
plan Jan. 1 merger
A merger of two family-owned truck and bus dealerships, including one with five locations in Arkansas, will create a single, privately held company with approximately $1 billion in annual revenue.
Diamond Cos. and Roberts Truck Center LLC announced Thursday that they will become one company Jan. 1. Together, they’ll employ 1,300 people at 29 locations in eight states.
Memphis-based Diamond employs 250 in Arkansas.
Roberts Truck Center was founded in 1974 and has grown to include International Truck, Kenworth, Volvo, Mack, Isuzu, Crane Carrier and IC Bus dealerships in Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
Diamond Cos. is a holding company for International Truck and IC Bus dealerships in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Tennessee.
Conway, Little Rock, Lowell, Pine Bluff and Russellville have Diamond dealerships.
- Chris Bahn
Arkansas Index falls 3 points to 310.32
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, fell 3.00 to 310.32 Thursday.
Thirteen stocks declined and four advanced.
P.A.M. Transportation Services shares gained 1.8 percent in light trading.
Acxiom rose 1.1 percent on average volume.
Arkansas Best had the day’s worst performance, falling 3.8 percent in heavy trading. Murphy Oil fell 2.7 percent on more than twice its average volume.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business, Pages 27 on 11/01/2013