LOCKNEY, Texas – A new meat processing facility will open its doors in Lockney, Texas, this June. Rome, NY-based Gold Medal Packing Group has spent an estimated $1 million over the past year renovating the former Lockney Meat Company, according to news reports.
The facility added additional processing space to enhance food safety at the plant, as well as adding new freezers, cattle pens and upgraded electrical equipment. A kill room was also added and the floors were renovated, the new manager of the plant, Gary Kovar, told The Plainview Herald.
Gold Medal will primarily be processing veal in the Lockney facility. However, it will also process dairy bull calves, goats and lambs. The plant will also produce hides, which will be sold to a leather company in California.
Plant general manager Ron Watts said the plant is slated to open in June with 20 employees. It is expected to expand to around 50 people over the next two years, according to reports. The plant anticipates being able to process around 200 head daily.