DAKOTA DUNES, S.D. — The Empirical family of companies, formerly known as Beef Products Inc. (BPI), announced on Dec. 23 that it will start constructing a new ground beef facility in Garden City, Kas.

The new facility plans to supplement the company’s existing production in South Sioux City, Neb.

When the location is fully operational, the Garden City facility will more than double Empirical’s ground beef production and employ around 300 employees in the Garden City area.

“Demand for Empirical’s lean ground beef requires us to significantly increase our processing capacity to meet the growing needs of our customers,” said Craig Letch, president of Empirical foods. “This presents an exciting opportunity for the future of our company and the communities that we call home.”

According to Empirical, with several technological advances with the new ground beef operation, it will need to find skilled workers for the facility.

“We took a long time evaluating the right location to be home for our new facility, and could not find a better, more welcoming community than Garden City,” said Nick Roth, president of Empirical technology inc., another of the Empirical companies that will be involved in the construction and management of its operations. “The state of Kansas, and Garden City in particular, have always been great partners to the beef industry and companies like ours, that have been valued members of the community for years. As we look to take this next step in the growth of our ground beef business, we can’t imagine a better place, or better people, to be part of the next chapter in the Empirical story.”

The company plans to break ground on the new operation during the first quarter of 2020. The plant is expected to be finished between 2022-23. A formal groundbreaking ceremony and celebration will be scheduled for early next year.

“We want to plan an event that gives us the right opportunity to bring everyone in Garden City up to speed on all of the exciting developments here at Empirical,” said Jennifer Letch, the head of administrative support for the companies. “Garden City has so many wonderful things to offer anyone lucky enough to live or work there, and we are thankful to have this chance to expand our relationship with the entire community.”