Gov. Andy Beshear was on hand Thursday for the official opening of a new multi-million dollar Tyson Foods processing plant in Bowling Green.
The company broke ground on the $355 million processing plant in 2022. The 400,000 square foot plant is located in the Kentucky Transpark and is expected to create close to 450 new jobs in the Warren County region.
Gov. Beshear said the new plant will have a significant impact on the Commonwealth’s economic development efforts.
“For the first time I can remember, the biggest companies in the United States and around the globe are calling us first, when they used to pretend they didn't have our number,” Beshear said. “We truly are not a fly-over state.”
Beshear was joined by Tyson CEO Donnie King, U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie of Warren County, Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell, Warren County Judge Executive Doug Gorman, and Bowling Green Mayor Todd Alcott.
The state-of-the-art facility is expected to produce bacon and bacon retail products. According to the company, the operation is expected to produce two million pounds of bacon.
The new plant is also expected to boost dependency on the state's farming community, according to Commissioner Shell.
“The economic impact that farms and facilities that will be helping to supply this with the actual product of pork coming is going be immense over time,” Shell said. “Not only do we have pork producers that will be providing pork to the facility but that also means they’ll be eating corn and soybean and other commodities."
Beshear also stopped at Western Kentucky University’s Innovation Campusduring his stop in Warren County. The Innovation Campus is designed to attract businesses to Bowling Green while providing students an opportunity to gain experience through internships and collaboration. The program was praised by Beshear for creating an economic boost to the Warren County community and building experience with WKU students and future talent.
The Innovation Campus houses regional, national and international businesses within its 30,000-foot facility.
Gov. Beshear said partnerships between higher education and businesses are vital for growing Kentucky’s workforce.
“These are the ways that we truly ensure that people have the experiences during their education to either have a direct pipeline or gain the important skills to succeed,” Beshear said.
WKU President Timothy Caboni and Innovation Campus CEO Buddy Steen praised the support from the Governor’s office and said the program would not have been as successful without support in Frankfort.
“The things that we’re doing is unique, not just unique in the state but across the country, and that’s coming from people from Paolo Alto, and Austin and Boston,” Steen said, adding that he didn't think the effort would be possible without help from "Team Kentucky and the Governor.”
