Cotton is king in the Lone Star State, and the construction of a new cottonseed processing facility in Lubbock will further increase the commodity’s presence in Texas.
Monsanto Company, in cooperation with the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance (LEDA), plans to begin construction of the facility in March 2016 and complete later in 2017.
It will be established as Monsanto’s primary U.S. hub for all commercial cottonseed processing operations and include cleaning, treating and bagging of cottonseed. Existing processing facilities will transition to support storage and warehousing, pre-commercial operations and research.
“Bringing people, processes and technology together at a new, state-of-the-art cotton facility in Lubbock will boost collaboration and efficiency within our manufacturing organization,” said Dave Penn, cotton manufacturing lead at Monsanto, in a news release. “Furthermore, its geographic location in Lubbock, Texas, will allow for better alignment with the cotton industry and help us better serve customers across the Cotton Belt.”
The facility will employ about 40 full-time personnel and represent a $140 million capital investment.
“Advanced technology at the new hub facility in Lubbock will allow for better data capture, and automating processes will improve both our manufacturing effectiveness and the safety of our personnel,” Penn said. “This creates value that we can pass on to our customers.”