Perdue AgriBusiness moving headquarters to Delaware

The poultry giant is moving the corporate headquarters for it’s Agribusiness subsidiary to Seaford.

The move is expected to add 110 to 120 jobs to the Delaware workforce.  That number could grow to 150 jobs over the next three years.  The company expects to move in to its new facility in 2012.  

To draw the new jobs, the Delaware Economic Development Office (DEDO) is recommending that Perdue receive a $1.74 million grant from the Delaware Strategic Fund.  That money will pay for construction of the company’s new headquarters.  An extra $375,000 performance-based grant will be awarded to the company based on the  number of new jobs created.

DEDO Secretary Alan Levin says, “I’m pleased that company’s like Perdue continue to recognize the value of our uniquely friendly business environment, our strategic location, and our talented workforce.”  He says Perdue is expected to invest $8 million at the new facility.

Perdue AgriBusiness president Dick Willey says the new headquarters will replace the company’s 40-year-old building in Salisbury.  “We’re no strangers to Delaware, and Delaware is no stranger to Perdue AgriBusiness,” Willey said.  “The Seaford location is centrally located to the Perdue AgriBusiness Delmarva operations as you can see on the map and will provide additional space and flexibility not available at that current location.”

Governor Jack Markell (D), who just returned from an economic trip to China and Taiwan, says, “I had a chance in both countries to talk to officials about Delaware poultry and to make sure that companies like Perdue and Mountaire, as well as Allen, are on the radar screen of the folks in China and Taiwan.  And they are because they recognize the quality that comes out of Delaware.”  

Markell says the addition of more than 100 jobs in Seaford is a big deal for a city that’s was hit hard after DuPont downsized its operations there.  “I think everything that we can do to rejuvenate Seaford is important, and to have a company of the caliber of Perdue Agribusiness to come here in this kind of step sends a really strong signal that we look forward to building upon.”

Perdue AgriBusiness is one of the nation’s largest grain companies and is a leader in processing and exporting agriculture products.