Last updated on September 19th, 2022 at 09:48 am
After several delays due to COVID-19, John Soules Foods, the City of Valley, Alabama, and the Chambers County Development Authority (CCDA) say that construction on the new John Soules Foods facility in Valley has begun. 
With the work commencing, John Soules Foods also has announced that Adam White has been named the maintenance manager for this location.
Since his hire, White has been working closely with the City of Valley and the CCDA to coordinate the logistics of construction.
“We are pleased to have Adam join the team,” said Tom Ellis, chief operating officer of Tyler, Texas-based John Soules Foods. “Adam brings valuable experience and proven ability to lead our Valley, Alabama, operations for years to come.”
Construction in phases
John Soules Foods’ operation in Valley will be broken into three phases. Phase one includes 210 full-time jobs and a $90 million in capital investment. This investment will be for renovations at the current facility, construction of additional buildings on-site, wastewater treatment and placement of two cook lines.
The planned second phase is projected to be a $39 million investment adding two new cook lines and an additional 200 new full-time employees. The third and final phase will result in 100 new employees, $22 million dollars in capital investment and the addition of one final cook line, making a total of five cook lines.
When all phases are complete, this facility will have the capability to produce over 200 million pounds of fully cooked beef and chicken products annually.
Construction is expected to take about 13 months with operations planned to commence in the summer of 2021. Batson-Cook Construction was awarded the first contract for the Valley project. Batson Cook, located in West Point, Georgia, has a vast portfolio of projects ranging from education and healthcare to industrial, office and beyond. “We are grateful for the opportunity to be working with John Soules Foods and appreciate their commitment to investing in our local economy” said Paul Meadows, Batson-Cook’s SVP and general manager.
John Soules Foods was established in 1975 and is a formulator, manufacturer and marketer of ready-to-cook and fully cooked beef and chicken products as well as fully cooked breaded chicken. Production facilities are in Tyler, Texas; Gainesville, Georgia; and now Valley, Alabama. The company’s products are sold under the John Soules Foods and ProView brands as well as a select number of private label brands for the country’s premier retailers.
