Hodie Meats is opening a new further poultry processing facility in Northeast Georgia that will serve a national customer base.
The operation is being led by an experienced team of poultry industry officials who are from the Northeast Georgia area. Ben Garcia is the vice president of processing and Amy Ward will act as the vice president of sales. Hodie is an all-fresh-meat, USDA-grade facility that receives processed chicken from other processors in the area. Poultry portions are cut and co-packed according to every customer's order.
“Our leadership team has come together to service a huge demand in the U.S. supply chain from food service companies, retailers, and processors for quality custom-cut chicken portions,” Garcia said. “As big believers in American ingenuity, we are especially proud to have created a one-hundred percent U.S.-owned manufacturing operation.”
The new plant will feature a full range of further processing capabilities, including hand-portioning of fillets, tenders, strips, diced meat and nuggets, as well as debonding both dark and white meat.
“From X-ray systems to metal detection, our facility has installed nothing less than the industry’s most advanced processing equipment technology,” Ward said. “This will give us the opportunity to have the best quality on the market.”
The facility will be located in Alto, Georgia, and represents a multi-million-dollar investment in repurposing and renovating the former Mount Vernon Textile Mill. The building also allows for plenty of future expansion, as the current operations cover less than one-quarter of the 200,000-square-foot plant.
According to a Hodie press release, the company plans to hire workers from the local population, many of whom will be former Mount Vernon Mill employees.
“The letters in our company name stand for ‘Humility, Ownership, Discipline, Integrity, and Excellence,’ representing values that we intend to exhibit throughout our customer relationships, community involvement, and support of the state’s poultry industry,” Garcia said. “We will continue the strong legacy of Georgia’s poultry industry through our investment in the lives of our employees and the families throughout our region.”
You can find out more about Hodie Meats by visiting their website or calling them directly at (678) 267-4130.