Bringing Home The Bacon: How Protein Facilities Help Feed Communities' Bellies And Wallets

In June 2024, Perry, Iowa’s largest employer closed its doors after more than six decades of operation. As a result, 1,276 employees were left without work and Dallas County took tax losses.

The city is set to soon be home to a meat processing facility, with JBS USA stating its plans to make a major investment toward a new sausage plant, with the goal of making 130 million pounds of sausage annually. This move is expected to bring 500 jobs to the community as well as 250 construction jobs for the project.

“This output can feed more than four million people nationwide annually, helping meet growing consumer demand for high-quality protein,” JBS said in a May press release.

Chicago-based design and construction company Epstein is at the helm of this facility’s design-build. This project is far from Epstein’s first foray into the protein processing industry. It is providing design-build services for the expansion of Daily’s Premium Meats bacon plant in St. Joseph, Missouri, and Ruiz Food Products in Denison, Texas, as well as designing a beef and pork processing facility for the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Atmore, Alabama.

Epstein Senior Vice President Darrin McCormies said these projects will create more jobs and boost communities’ economies. 

“The impact of having a new processing facility is wide-reaching,” he said. “It helps the communities maintain their tax base and trickles down into the companies that do business with the plant.”

Epstein helps clients with site selection, designing utility systems according to the utility requirements, choosing the equipment for the space, hiring subcontractors for the projects, and obtaining the necessary permits, he said.

When creating a processing system for the facilities, Epstein’s engineers need to know what a facility will be used for — whether that is to get the most value out of the animal, expand the company into a new product line, or streamline its processes, Epstein Director of Process Engineering Chad Ware said.

“Once we understand their exact objectives, we translate those business drivers into a process design around what goes in and out of the facility and how to make sure that every cut of meat or product flows into its highest-value use,” he said. “This is the backbone of the facility design.”

The JBS facility was unique in that the project went from being awarded to Epstein to breaking ground in just five months, Ware said. He attributed this speed in part to the “trust and transparency” it developed with JBS early on, as well as the collaboration with Perry city officials.

Epstein also works to educate communities about key project details. Epstein architect and Project Manager Josh Warren said the firm attended community meetings with JBS to help inform the community about the technical aspects of the project and its benefits.

“Our expertise is present in all our projects, but we’ve invested more in the meat processing world than any other company like us,” McCormies said. “This allows us to be more proactive in understanding what the community’s needs are.”

Epstein has brought its expertise into its other projects that came with significant community benefits, Ware said. The Poarch Band of Creek Indians tapped Epstein for the design of their beef and pork facility. He said they needed to get the most use out of their livestock and provide their community with fresh meat.

“For the tribe, it was about having fresh, wholesome food products available to them and to sell to the community,” Ware said. “Now, they will never run into these roadblocks of not having access to meat again.”

Some of Epstein’s projects also ensure that its clients can gain the most value from their products. One example of this is turning pork belly parts into cooked bacon bits, which the Daily’s Premium Meats plant expansion accomplished.

“Daily’s is proud to be part of the St. Joseph community and this expansion will not only enhance our production capabilities for premium bacon products but also bring valuable job opportunities, driving the economic growth of St. Joseph,” Daily’s Vice President and General Manager Joe Richmond said in a statement.

Another project, Ruiz Food Products, involved expanding its facility to allow it to produce a variety of tortillas for its taquitos and frozen goods.

Ware said having plants in the region, rather than having residents commute to bigger cities for work, enables people to stay put in their community.

“These projects are about more than bricks and steel,” he said. “They’re about creating lasting value for our clients and the communities they’re in.”

McCormies said the resulting processing plants extend to creating a “permanence within a community and family group,” since the plants operate year-round instead of seasonally.

“Many of these plants are the stepping stone to the American dream,” he said. “These are great careers that people can stay in for decades and raise their families on.”

This article was produced in collaboration between Studio B and Epstein. Bisnow’s editorial staff was not involved in its creation.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.