The Thai owner of San Diego-based Chicken of the Sea International and Samoa Packing in American Samoa has announced its investment plan for a U.S. plant.
Thai Union Frozen, Thailand's biggest canned tuna exporter, said its first-quarter earnings rose 13 percent and it plans to spend millions of dollars on a new U.S. plant, and upgrade its plant in American Samoa.
Reuters news agency quotes company president, Thiraphong Chansiri, as saying the company will spend a combined 20 million US dollars on a new plant in the U.S. state of Georgia and restructure the plant in American Samoa.
The new plant in Georgia will start manufacturing from October 1st.
Chicken of the Sea said in a statement last week that ceasing canning operations in American Samoa and opening a U.S. domestic canning operation ensures Chicken of the Sea will remain viable and competitive for the long term.
The company said it will transition Samoa Packing to a cold storage facility, while it pursues a transfer of the facility's lease to an an outside business entity.
