National Beef announces $100 million expansion in Tama that will add ‘several hundred’ jobs

National Beef Company plans to expand its beef processing facility in Tama in a $100 million project that will bring 'several hundred” jobs into the region, the company said in a news release Wednesday.

The project is expected to add a second shift of workers and double capacity at the facility to 2,500 head per day.

'We are pleased to be making this investment in the growth of the Tama facility, and we appreciate the support of the local communities and the state of Iowa as we work together to make this expansion a success,” Tim Klein, National Beef's president and CEO, said in the release.

'This project will increase our capacity to produce products that are in high demand by our customers worldwide and will provide an expanded market for the Iowa family farmers who supply us with premium Angus cattle.”

The expansion is scheduled to be done by late 2022, according to the news release.

Kansas City, Mo.-based National Beef has about 850 employees in Tama. More than a third of those employees - 338 - tested positive for coronavirus in April during a major outbreak at the facility.

The Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined National Beef $957 for a minor violation after the outbreak.

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