Gray & American Foods Group Break Ground on Beef Processing Facility

Gray, a fully integrated, global services provider for the food & beverage market, and American Foods Group, a large privately-held protein company specializing in boxed beef and grinds for customers around the globe, broke ground on a new beef processing facility. 

This 775,000 s.f. greenfield facility, located in Warren County, Missouri, will serve as a harvest and processing facility and is expected to have a capacity of nearly 2,400 cattle per day. 

“American Foods Group is proud to partner with Gray,” said AFG Executive Vice President Jim Rathke. “They brought the expertise we needed to engineer, design, and now build our state-of-the-art beef harvest facility. In addition, they are partners that share our family-owned, relationship-driven values.”

This facility will be American Foods Group’s sixth harvest facility in the U.S. and will include a harvest floor, carcass chillers, fabrication, rendering, grinds, further processing, storage coolers, freezers, and loading docks. 

“Gray prides itself on our values and working with customers who share those same values,” says Brian Jones, president & CEO of Gray Construction. “Our partnership with American Foods Group is a prime example of the excellence produced when values are combined with experience and expertise to create an outstanding project.” 

At peak construction, 1,200 workers will be on site. Once complete, the facility is expected to employ 1,300 workers. 

The groundbreaking event featured a ceremonial “turning of the dirt” along with a number of special guests, including Governor Mike Parson (MO); Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn (MO); Department of Economic Development Director Maggie Kost (MO); Family shareholders Tom, Karin, and Reid Rosen; President of American Foods Group Louie Kohlbeck; and Project EVP Jim Rathke.

"Our partnership with American Foods Group is a prime example of the excellence produced when values are combined with experience and expertise to create an outstanding project."

Brian Jones, President & Chief Executive Officer, Gray Construction

About Gray 

Consistently ranked among the top industrial contractors in the U.S., Gray focuses on the following markets for domestic and international customers: Food & Beverage, Manufacturing, Automotive, Distribution, Mission Critical, and Commercial, with nearly 30 offices across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Founded in 1960, Gray has grown to encompass a complementary family of brands designed to augment and enhance each other’s specialized capabilities without gaps or redundancies. Our robust offering enables us to create one-of-a-kind solutions at the highest levels of customization, delivering unmatched precision and partnership to some of the world’s most sophisticated organizations.   

For more information on Gray, visit gray.com and follow us @Gray.   

About American Foods Group

American Foods Group is a family-owned, U.S. beef processing company based in Green Bay, WI, with locations throughout the Midwest. They are committed to long-term growth in the cattle business and to the partners they serve.

To learn more about American Foods group, visit https://www.americanfoodsgroup.com/.