Poultry production company relocating to Bastrop, creating 300 jobs

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Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal will make an annoucement in Bastrop at noon today that a Mississippi-based poultry production company will locate in Bastrop, ultimately creating 300 jobs.

DG Foods of Hazlehurst, MS, is expanding its production capacity to create poultry products used in the restaurant industry.

In April, the company invested $2.8 million in a processing facility to meet demands after it signed a contract to provide Phoenix-based food distributor Bar-S foods with poultry products. Local and state economic develoment agencies help provide funding for infrastructure improvements at the site of its plant in Gallman, approximately 40 miles south of Jackson.

Neil Honana is director of the Copiah County Economic Development District, which worked with the Mississippi Development Authority to bring DG Foods an area approximately 40 miles south of Jackson. He said the company has exceeded what his agency and state required of them when they began working with the company in 2004.

"We told them with the package we were providing that we expected them to generate 200 jobs," Honan said. "They employee 450 workers now and are great corporate citizens in our community.

It is expected Louisiana Economic Developing will provide funding for infrastructure improvements and job training programs for employees that will provide tax benefits for the company.

Preliminary reports indicate DG Foods would ultimately provide jobs paying an average of $23,000 annually for 300 workers.

Louisiana Tech University Enterprise Center Director Davey Norris said the company's payroll could have an impact of up to $10 million annually on the local economy.