TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Peco Foods Inc. recently announced it was acquiring the physical assets of the Batesville, Ark., poultry complex owned by Townsends Inc. and subsidiaries. Peco is purchasing selected inventories, in addition to the plant, feed mill and hatchery facilities, said Mark Hickman, CEO of the Tuscaloosa, Alabama-based Peco Foods.

“We are pleased to add the Townsend Foods complex in northeast Arkansas to our operations,” Hickman added. “The Batesville plant is very similar to our complex in Sebastopol, Miss., and will fit seamlessly with our overall market strategy and growth plan.”


Townsends Inc., and Peco Foods, is a third-generation, family-owned poultry processor. Founded in 1891, Townsends filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy late in 2013, and the assets were recently sold at auction. The transaction was expected to close Feb. 25, and plans are to have a quick transition to production in Batesville under the new Peco ownership.

Peco Foods is a family owned business with four slaughtering plants, two further processing plants, four hatcheries and four feed mills located in Alabama and Mississippi. “This is an ideal opportunity for us to expand our production capacity at the right time in Peco’s history,” Hickman said. “It is a very