Tyson buys organic poultry producer
Tyson Foods has acquired organic chicken producer Tecumseh Poultry LLC as part of a deal that includes the company's Smart Chicken brand.
The acquisition adds to Tyson's efforts to build its portfolio of protein brands and includes two plants located in Tecumseh and Waverly, Neb., as well as live operations. Terms of the deal were not disclosed by Tyson, which said it expects to retain about 600 employees and to operate Tecumseh Poultry as a separate, wholly owned subsidiary.
Eric Schwartz, Tyson Foods chief marketing officer of poultry, said in a statement the meat producer made the acquisition because more consumers want options for "fresh, organic food."
Tecumseh was founded in 1998 and, according to a release, produces "air-chilled, fresh chicken" along with deli-style chicken and a variety of chicken sausages. The air-chilling process uses cold air to cool chicken during processing, which is different than the most common method used by the U.S. chicken industry of water chilled chicken.
-- Robbie Neiswanger
Big rigs to undergo inspections in state
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance said it will focus on hours-of-service compliance during this year's International Roadcheck, which begins today and runs through Thursday.
Inspectors will conduct 37-step, North American Standard Level 1 inspections on selected tractor-trailer rigs with an emphasis placed on hours-of-service after the U.S. Department of Transportation's electronic logging device mandate was put in place earlier this year.
The 72-hour blitz is scheduled each year, and trucks will be inspected in Arkansas at the Alma weigh station and other locations, according to Arkansas Department of Transportation spokesman Danny Straessle.
During last year's International Roadcheck event, the alliance said about 12,000 trucks and 3,000 drivers were placed out of service because of violations.
-- Robbie Neiswanger
State index jumps 4.53 to all-time high
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, jumped 4.53 to 436.63 Monday, the all-time high for the index.
The previous high was 435.15 on Jan. 26.
"Wall Street's three major indexes rose on Monday, led by a rally in tech stocks, pushing the Nasdaq to a record closing high," said Chris Harkins, managing director with Raymond James & Associates in Little Rock.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 06/05/2018