Tyson receives $960k SEDCO automation incentive
12 Aug 2022
News and Media
08/12/2022 (Michael Hutchins, Herald Democrat)
As industrial employers continue to struggle to find workers for open positions, another major Texoma employer is increasing automation on its production lines. On Tuesday, the Sherman Economic Development Corporation board of directors approved a $960,000 incentive for Tyson related to automation.
Tyson joins Denison’s Ruiz Foods as major food producers in Texoma that have turned to automation amid struggles nationwide to hire qualified workers across most industries.
“I’ve been seeing and hearing this in economic development with my peer group that many companies are really going serious into automation,” SEDCO President Kent Sharp said. “I’ve hard to find employees, but you can automate and not have to hire two or three or four people to do it.”
Under the terms of the agreement between SEDCO and Tyson, SEDCO is offering the incentive to assist Tyson in updating and automating eight of its packaging lines. The upgrade is expected to cost about $32 million to complete.
SEDCO will pay for about 3 percent of the project over the course of 36 months through three annual payments. As a part of its requirements, company must maintain an average workforce of 1,600 employees over the course of the 36 months.