By Randall Rigsbee

An Atlanta-based company is negotiating with Pilgrim’s Pride to possibly buy the poultry producer’s Siler City plant, which is scheduled to discontinue operations soon.

If the negotiations are successful, Siler City officials say, it will mean the 840 local jobs in jeopardy because of the imminent Pilgrim’s Pride plant closing would be saved, as would the jobs of the 230 area poultry producers who have depended on Pilgrim’s Pride for at least a portion of their income.

Pilgrim’s Pride announced in March the company was not interested in selling its facilities in Chatham County to a business which would compete with its other plants; however, after reviewing Siler City’s economic situation, including the closing of the Pilgrim’s Pride plant and the resulting job losses, company officials reconsidered the decision and agreed to entertain an offer to sell the facilities

IIG Management Inc., a private equity company based in Atlanta, is in talks with Pilgrim’s Pride to buy the local Pilgrim’s Pride facilities, according to officials with the Town of Siler City.

IIG plans to produce chickens for shipment exclusively to foreign markets and would not compete with Pilgrim’s Pride’s domestic sales.

"I’m excited about it," said Siler City Mayor Charles Turner. "We’re pleased that Pilgrim’s Pride has looked at our situation in Siler City and feels they could possibly help our situation by selling to a non-competitive organization."

Lonnie "Bo" Pilgrim, founder, chairman and principal owner of Pilgrim’s Pride, has a reputation for being extremely civic-minded and was made aware of the local economic situation, which reached far beyond just the closing of the plant.

Pilgrim’s generosity has been noted nationally.

Siler City Mayor Pro Tem John Grimes also welcomed the news, noting that the poultry industry is vitally important to Siler City and Chatham County.

For several weeks, IIG officials have been talking with local officials about the potential purchase.

Former Chatham County commissioner Tommy Emerson, who is very familiar with local agricultural concerns having worked for 32 years for Farm Credit Systems, has for the past two weeks served as a volunteer liaison between IIG and Pilgrim’s Pride at the request of Turner and Siler City Town Manager Joel Brower.

"We’ve been trying to assist IIG in analyzing the operation here," Emerson said.

If the negations are successful, this will be IIG’s first venture into the poultry business, though the company has other food-related enterprise, Emerson said.

The company has already invested several million in equipment for refrigerated shipping for its poultry operation.

"They’re going to be in the business somewhere," Emerson said of IIG. "Let’s hope they’ll be in the business here."

IIG will sell its product – which Emerson said are "grillers," a very light bird which requires a shorter feed time and less square footage to raise, helping maximize profits for local producers — primarily in the Middle East

Emerson was uncertain on Tuesday how long negations between the two companies might continue.

"They’re hoping to bring it to consummation as quickly as possible," he said.

The two companies met in negations for seven hours on Monday, said Emerson.

Also, if the purchase goes through, IIG plans to upgrade the local plant over a 12-week period, making the plant more efficient for water conservation and sewage disposal.

"It will be a state-of-the-art facility when they’re done with it," said Emerson.

Siler City officials welcomed the positive news, particularly after the stunning announcement in March that Pilgrim’s Pride planned to shut down its operation at 602 South Chatham Avenue in Siler City in late May or early June, resulting in the loss of more than 800 local jobs.

Pilgrim’s Pride officials also said the feed mill and hatchery in Staley would close. The hatchery on West Raleigh Street in Siler City will remain open because it is associated with the company’s Lee County operation.

Pilgrim’s Pride cited rising feed costs as a primary reason for the decision.

"Our Company and industry are struggling to cope with unprecedented increases in feed-ingredient costs this year due largely to the U.S. government’s ill-advised policy of providing generous federal subsidies to corn-based ethanol blenders," said Clint Rivers, president and chief executive officer of Pilgrim’s Pride, in March. "The cost burden is already enormous, and it’s growing even larger."

Siler City officials said this week that the loss of Pilgrim’s Pride was a blow for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that, according to Emerson, the company has been a "good corporate citizen."

"Pilgrim’s Pride has been good for us," agreed Mayor Turner. "They’ve always worked with the town really well, always been very cooperative with us."

Not only has Pilgrim’s Pride been important to the town‘s coffers, including purchasing $100,000 worth of water monthly, the employees have been good contributors to the community in a number of ways, Turner said.

He cited, for example, "the tremendous amount of money" Pilgrim’s Pride employees have raised for Relay for Life.

"We’re appreciative of all our industry here in Siler City," the mayor said.

Brower said he recently spoke with Rivers in a lengthy telephone conversation and the Pilgrim’s Pride CEO was sympathetic to Siler City and the economic blow it faces when the company closes.

"We had a good conversation," said Brower. "We talked about small towns and how important these revenues are to Siler City. He was sympathetic to our plight."

Brower said Rivers indicted in that conversation that Pilgrim’s Pride was willing to negotiate with IIG.

"I thought that was very positive," said Brower.

Mayor Turner agreed.

"I’m so glad that Pilgrim’s Pride is considering selling," he said.