New US$35.3 million plant is part of a larger US$100 million investment
Aviagen plans to break ground this month on a new US$35.3 million feed mill in Pikeville, Tennessee.
According to the company, the feed mill is part of a US$100 million investment in Pikeville and Crossville, Tennessee. Aviagen already has a veterinary laboratory, hatchery, office, vehicle maintenance facility and pedigree farms in the Crossville area. The new Pikeville feed processing facility is part of a broader expansion that will double the company’s current investment in the Pikeville and Crossville area with new grandparent production farms and the expansion of a hatchery. The mill will create 36 new jobs, while the entire complex will employ 260 people upon completion, which is slated for 2021.
The company chose the site, off the U.S. 127 bypass, for its new complex because of its proximity to the company’s existing production facilities, as well as for its physical isolation, adding to the extensive biosecurity measures. Aviagen said it plans to source grain for its feed processing facility from local farmers, and it estimates the need for 1 million to 1.5 million bushels in the first year.
The new feed mill will have the capacity to produce 2,400 tons per week, or 125,000 tons annually. It will supply feed to more than 18 Aviagen pedigree and 46 grandparent farms, as well as additional future operations.
Aviagen said the feed mill will integrate technology to enhance biosecurity and produce pathogen-free feed. The company has gone to great lengths to ensure “clean” feed production, including a unique modulated facility design, frequent pathogen testing, and total employee biosecurity buy-in.
“Our foremost priority is the health and welfare of our birds, which begins with biosecure, high-quality feed,” said Richard Obermeyer, director of feed production, in a press release. “The Pikeville facility joins our Sallisaw, Oklahoma, and Athens, Alabama, fleet of high-capacity, state-of-the-art feed processing facilities to keep our birds nourished with an adequate supply of nutritionally balanced feed.”
