PERRY, Ga. — Good news for meat lovers! The delayed Jack Link's plant in Perry has seen some considerable progress since the the company announced it will miss its Fall 2024 opening date.
Now, the expected opening date is Summer 2025, and as you drive by the site off of Perry Parkway, you'll see big concrete walls being erected.
As we previously reported, the $450 million project is expected to bring 800 jobs to Central Georgia.
Jack Link's, which makes beef jerky and other meat-forward snacks, announced that they are opening up a plant on Perry Parkway that is set to bring 800 jobs to the area.
The company says they ran into delays during the early stages of construction. Now, after getting the plumbing and concrete work complete, it now means walls are able to go up.
Lisa Oster, a PR person with Jack Link's, blamed economic conditions and supply chain issues at the time of the delay. She said that progress would start to become more visible around this time.
Angie Gheesling with the Houston County Development Authority told us that a project of this size typically takes two years to construct. She says they're facing supply chain issues similar to what you may have noticed when buying home appliances.
"There's some things in transit that we don't know when they'll get here, including putting a large transformer in just for the power company to serve them," Gheesling said.
The Jack Link's plant is one of the latest projects to come to a rural area in Georgia after the state announced the plant in 2022.
“When I ran for governor, I promised to bring opportunities to all parts of our state, especially the rural communities that have been overlooked in the past," Gov. Brian Kemp said in a press release. "Today is the latest fruit of our hard labor."
Jack Link's was founded in Wisconsin in 1985 and the company chose a 120-acre site in an I-75 GRAD Certified Site to build their production facility.
In the press release from 2022, they say that they're hoping to open up shop in Perry for the long run and become a community partner.
We are excited to partner with the State of Georgia and Houston County on this state of the art facility,” CEO of Jack Link's Troy Link said. “We are grateful for the opportunity to invest in Perry for the long term and are committed to becoming a strong community advocate.”
Reporting contributed by Megan Western.