Tyson Foods Inc. said its Springdale, Ark., poultry processing neighbor,George's Inc., agreed to buy Tyson's Harrisonburg, Va., poultry operations for an undisclosed amount.

“We believe Tyson’s Harrisonburg complex will be a good fit for our company, complementing our existing poultry operations in Harrisonburg and nearby Edinburg,” said Gary George, George's chairman and CEO.  “We don’t plan to make any immediate changes and expect to retain substantially all of the people currently employed by Tyson at Harrisonburg.  It’s also our intention to honor the contracts Tyson has with the 121 contract farms that raise chickens for the complex.”

Tyson said its Harrisonburg operations employ more than 500 people. Those operations include a processing plant in Harrisonburg and a hatchery in Broadway, Va., as well as a feed mill and truck shop in New Market, Va.

“Harrisonburg has been an important part of Tyson for many years and has a great workforce, however, we believe it makes economic sense for us to sell the plant and divert more of our resources to some of our other operations,” said Donnie King, Tyson senior group vice president of Poultry and Prepared Foods.

Tyson said the Harrisonburg complex was among the poultry operations it acquired in 1989 with its purchase of Holly Farms. The complex produces commodity boneless and whole bird chicken as well as chicken leg quarters for sale to retail, foodservice and international customers.

Tyson said the deal not affect Tyson’s other operations in Virginia, which include poultry production complexes at Glen Allen and Temperanceville.

George's, Inc. is a fully integrated poultry operation supplying foodservice and retail markets. It operates plants in Springdale as well as Cassville, Mo., and Edinburg, Va.