A California investment group announced Tuesday that it has acquired a former Tyson Foods plant in Pine Bluff and will reopen it for poultry processing by the end of May.
The buyer, Horizon Foods LP, issued a short statement predicting initial employment of approximately 175 people and an eventual full production staff of 329.
The lead investor is Rory Botto of Stockton, Calif. He apparently has not done business in Arkansas previously. He pleaded guilty to bank fraud in California in 2000 and was released from federal prison the next year.
According to the company’s statement, Horizon Food is rebuilding the plant at 2201 Second St. for processing hens "primarily for foreign markets." The plant had been shut down by Tyson in 2003 and sold to a different group of investors in 2007.
The release refers to a workforce incentive from the Economic Development Corporation of Jefferson County and tax incentives from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.
Lou Ann Nisbett, president and CEO of the Economic Development Alliance of Jefferson County, said the company had been loaned $329,000 – $1,000 for each expected employee – to help pay for freezer equipment. The loan, funded by an economic development sales tax adopted by voters last year, will be forgiven at a rate of $1,000 per employee actually hired after five years.
Joe Holmes, spokesman for AEDC, said Horizon could apply for the statutory Advantage Arkansas and Tax Back incentives that are available to all companies that meet eligibility thresholds.
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