GREELEY, Colo. – Pilgrim's Pride Corp. said it will invest $25 million to improve its operations in Alabama, including the construction of a new feed mill and renovation of an existing poultry-processing plant.

Construction of the feed mill is scheduled to start within 30 days in Pinckard, Ala. It will replace an existing facility in Enterprise, Ala., and employ more than 25 people. Renovations at the Enterprise facility will occur over the next six months. The Dale County Commission and the Ozark-Dale County Economic Development Corp. granted the company a tax abatement to offset new construction and equipment costs.

“We are excited to announce our continued commitment to Dale County, the communities of Enterprise and Pinckard, local family farmers, our customers and the Pilgrim’s team members who work hard every day to make our business a success,” said Jayson Penn, executive vice-president of sales and operations at Pilgrim’s. “This significant investment is consistent with our strategy of relentless pursuit of operational excellence and will improve our efficiencies, cost structure and competitiveness, while creating a safer work environment for our employees.”

The Enterprise plant is a two-shift poultry processing facility that employs more than 700 people. The plant processes more than 1 million birds per week, and supplies poultry products to food service and restaurant chains in the United States.

Greeley, Colo.-based Pilgrim’s is a subsidiary of JBS S.A. in Sáo Paulo, Brazil.