Jona Smith, vice president of IT applications services, received a 2021 STEP Ahead Honoree award from The Manufacturing Institute for Excellence in Manufacturing.

Tyson Foods is building a $355 million bacon plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky, primarily for the production of Wright Brand and Jimmy Dean retail and foodservice products. The 400,000-square-foot facility is expected to create 450 jobs with production beginning in late 2023.

The people, companies and facilities making headlines

HempRise has opened its 100,000-square-foot operation in Jeffersonville, Indiana. The plant has the capacity to produce 10 metric tons of hemp biomass per day, which is equivalent to approximately 8 million pounds of biomass per year. The company selected Gray to design and build the facility.

The future of fresh food confronts a strong challenge from frozen and plant-based alternatives that are benefiting from shifting consumer behaviors and purchase patterns, according to new research by Deloitte.