Smithfield Foods Inc. and Kansas City Sausage LLC today announced construction of a $44.8 million, 90,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art sausage plant in Sampson County, NC. The project represents an investment by Kansas City Sausage LLC, a 50-50 joint venture between Smithfield and Kansas City Sausage.

The plant, which is expected to create 177 new jobs, will produce 50 million pounds of pork sausage annually and will be a comprehensive operation—from live animal harvest through finished product shipping—processing between 700 and 1,000 sows a day.

"We formed Kansas City Sausage in 2013 as part of our strategy to expand into the $4 billion breakfast and dinner sausage categories. This new facility is an essential part of that strategy and also underscores our commitment to broaden our product offerings through a focus on our customers, brands, products and geographic footprint," said Smithfield Foods' president and chief executive officer C. Larry Pope.

The joint venture will construct the new production facility at the site of the former Martins Abattoir & Wholesale Meats in northwest Sampson County, which was purchased by Kansas City Sausage in April 2014. Demolition of the existing plant will begin immediately, with construction of the new facility expected to be completed by June 2016.