Tyson Foods Inc., Springdale, Ark., last week marked 50 years in poultry processing. Officials said the company dates back to 1935 when founder John W. Tyson began hauling live chickens from Springdale to markets in Kansas City and St. Louis. The business was known as Tyson Feed and Hatchery Inc. from 1947 to 1963. Meanwhile, it was on August 18, 1958, that John's son, Don Tyson, opened the company's Randall Road plant in Springdale. Today, the Randall Road operation employs 460 people and processes 1.3 million birds a week, including Cornish Game Hens for retail and foodservice customers.
In related news, Tyson recently honored the Randall Road plant for achieving nine million work hours, the equivalent of nine years, without a lost workday accident. Officials said the achievement is a companywide record for Tyson processing plants.