Allen Harim plans to be a good neighbor at its plant in Millsboro. The plant formerly produced Vlasic pickles.
The planned $100 million plant has raised concerns among neighbors. The company held a meeting to give residents more information about the plant, according to a story posted on the company website.
The website story included information from an article in the Coastal Point newspaper. The company plans to reduce the environmental impact of the plant from the figures of former owner Pinnacle Foods, which operated the Vlasic plant.
One issue has been water use, with Allen Harim expected to pump 800,000 gallons a day compared to 3.8 million gallons used when Pinnacle operated the site. In addition, water from the deepest aquifer will be used. Local wells often he top aquifer.
Discharged water from the plant will be safe enough to drink, a company official said.
Odors are not seen as an issue since the plant is not a feed mill or hatchery and the company will use advanced technology employed in Europe.
Allen Harim, a part of a Korean poultry company, has been bringing new technology to the Allen plants it acquired when the processor went into bankruptcy.
That technology includes a de-boning system that is said to be a breakthrough in poultry processing.
Another issue that has been raised regarding the Millsboro site is traffic, since 85 tractor-trailer trucks will visit the plant each day. The company is looking at options, such as alternative routes.
The plant could open by the middle of 2015, the article noted.
The expansion has been seen as good news for a poultry industry that went into a slump during the economic downturn and claimed Allen as one of its victims. At the same time, Sussex County is growing rapidly and new residents don’t have the same ties to agribusiness.
