Tyson opens high-tech hatchery

New Springdale center set to employ about 35 people

Tyson Foods’ high-tech Incubation Technology Center opened Wednesday in Springdale. Construction began in May 2015.
Tyson Foods’ high-tech Incubation Technology Center opened Wednesday in Springdale. Construction began in May 2015.

Tyson Foods Inc. opened its high-tech Incubation Technology Center in Springdale on Wednesday. The chicken producer said the new facility makes hatchery operations more efficient and better positions the company to handle its 2017 No Antibiotics Ever campaign.

"This state-of-the-art incubation center allows us to centralize some of our operations so we can be more efficient," said Doug Ramsey, Tyson group president of poultry. "It was built with the best technology available and with the highest level of biosecurity in mind."

Tyson began construction on the Incubation Technology Center in May 2015, investing nearly $31 million. The center will replace two nearby hatcheries that have been operational for decades.

The 75,000-square-foot center will supply chicks for broiler chicken and Cornish hen operations in Northwest Arkansas. Located at East Huntsville Avenue and North Monitor Road in East Springdale, the new center will consolidate hatchery operations throughout the region.

Inside the chrome hatchery, the processing line has updated technology including incubation hoods, injection stations, sanitation zones, sustainable ventilation and six yellow robotic arms that handle repetitive tasks previously done by hatchery workers. The end result is the same: Eggs hatch into chicks in 21 days.

About 35 people are scheduled to work at the incubation center once operational. It will be replacing hatcheries in Lincoln, and on Randall Wobbe Road in Springdale, that have been operational since the '60s.

A significant amount of workers from both hatcheries will be transferring to the technology center or nearby plants and feed mills, while some are set to retire, said Tyson spokesman Worth Sparkman.

There are 55 people who work at both the Springdale and Lincoln hatcheries.

A date for when those hatcheries close and plans for repurposing them are undetermined.

Processing line tests are estimated to begin at the end of this month with a technology center operational goal set for Sept. 4, company workers said.

Tyson announced its No Antibiotics Ever goal in May, joining competitors Perdue and Pilgrim's Pride. When antibiotics are out of the mix, meat companies find other solutions to compensate.

"Several items included in this facility improve our capability to clean and control that environment on a much higher level," Sparkman said.

The Incubation Technology Center is built with the latest advances in biosecurity, including the use of high-tech ventilation and internal environmental controls to continually circulate fresh air throughout the building, according to a company release.

The work by Tyson at the hatchery encourages additional development in the area, Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse said Wednesday.

"The Tyson Incubation Facility is an impressive addition to our city. We appreciate the continued investment the Tyson family makes in our community," Sprouse said.

Tyson operates facilities in 20 Arkansas communities, employing about 23,500 people in the state with an annual payroll of nearly $1.4 billion. Tyson paid poultry growers more than $261 million in fiscal year 2016 with an estimated statewide impact of $1.96 billion.

Business on 08/24/2017

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