New Clemens Pork Processing Plant Opens

Sep 06, 2017

Farms.com Editorial Team

The new Clemens Food Group pork processing plant began operations this week. The new 550,000 square-foot fresh pork processing facility is located at Jonesville Road and Newton Road in Coldwater, Michigan. It is expected to cost more than $255.7 million in private investment and create over 800 jobs.

There has not been a Michigan based pork processing plant of any size since the Thornapple Valley plant closed in 1998.

The new Coldwater plant is expected to reach peak production by February of next year handling 10-thousand hogs a day.

Clemens Food Group is based in Hatfield, Pennsylvania and offers brands including Premium Reserve, Hatfield, Red’s, Prima Porta, and Nick’s. They also offer many products for the restaurants and institutional food services.

Video: What Does 20 MILLION Hogs a Year Look Like?

?? The Multi-Plant System Processing 20 Million Hogs Annually in the Midwest JBS USA operates multiple large-scale pork processing facilities across the Midwest, including major plants in Iowa, Minnesota, and Indiana. Combined, these facilities have the capacity to process approximately 20 million hogs annually.

Each plant operates high-speed automated slaughter systems capable of processing up to 20,000 head per day, followed by fabrication lines that break carcasses into primals, sub-primals, and case-ready retail products.

Hog procurement is coordinated through electronic marketing platforms that connect regional contract finishing operations and independent producers to plant demand schedules. This digital procurement system allows for steady supply flow and scheduling efficiency across multiple facilities.

Processing plants incorporate comprehensive food safety systems, including pathogen intervention technologies, rapid chilling processes, and integrated cold-chain management. USDA inspection is embedded throughout the harvest and fabrication stages to ensure regulatory compliance and product integrity. Finished pork products — from bulk primals to retail-ready packaged cuts — are distributed through coordinated logistics networks serving domestic and export markets.