Poultry plant gets new life, Pine Bluff to get jobs

After years of false starts and a struggle to secure funding, the Summit Poultry plant in Pine Bluff plans to reopen in the first 10 days of January, delivering more than 100 jobs to the town.

"Starting out, 100-plus jobs would be a huge shot in the arm for our city and our economy," said Pine Bluff Mayor Debe Hollingsworth.

The plant was shuttered by Tyson Foods in 2003, then reopened as part of Horizon Foods. Horizon Foods shut the plant a year later.

Summit Poultry took control of the plant in late 2013. Then, Summit failed to be bought by a larger company and didn't purchase any birds to process. The plant lasted only until May of 2014.

Rick Peters, the chief operating officer of Agri-Max LLC in Texas, and Clifton Dugas, a Texas lawyer, have acquired Summit Poultry's assets and the means to reopen the plant.

"This time Mr. Rick Peters has solid investors behind him," Hollingsworth said. "I hope they are able to continue moving forward."

[EMAIL ALERTS: Sign up for free breaking news updates + daily newsletters featuring day's top stories]

Peters will be in charge of Summit's personnel and operations. He has begun hiring managers in Pine Bluff. Peters and Dugas also are responsible with settling the plant's previous payments within the first 12 months of operation.

Pine Bluff had an unemployment rate of 4.7 percent in October, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The city's unemployment has fallen significantly since the last time the plant operated in 2013, when the rate hovered around 9 percent to 10 percent.

The state's unemployment rate sits at 4 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in October.

"Right around Christmastime and starting out around the first of the year, the timing is really wonderful," Hollingsworth said.

Business on 12/14/2016

Upcoming Events