Caviness Beef Packers to expand

Caviness Beef Packers, which is headquartered in Amarillo, announced plans this week to expand its beef facility in Hereford and add a second processing shift.

The expansion will add about 600 jobs to the facility and enable Caviness to process an additional 800 head per day, according to company executives. The daily capacity of the plant will be 2,600 head.

The year-long construction project will begin in October.

"Caviness is excited to expand its processing capacity at our Hereford plant," said CEO Terry Caviness, in a statement. "This location has been good to us, and we have filled a need through the years. It is where it all started over 55 years ago in 1962, and we have been fortunate to be able to see continued growth.

"The Texas panhandle is a vibrant cattle region with wonderful folks that have a great work ethic. The cattle numbers from the supply side are favorable, and we are excited to create more packing capacity and demand for cattle in the greater southwest," he added.

The mix of additional cattle will come from regional ranchers, dairies and area feed yards.

"We have good opportunities to further diversify and expand our higher-end beef product offerings," company President Trevor Caviness said in a statement.

Caviness Beef Packers is a family-owned business with beef plants in Hereford and Amarillo. It employs more than 800 people.