Nearly two years after an explosion rocked the ConAgra Foods plant on Jones Sausage Road, the final Garner-made Slim Jims will roll out Friday, staff writer Sarah Nagem reports.

The company is stopping production as it shifts its meat-snacks operation to a plant in Troy, Ohio. At the Garner plant that has employed thousands of people since it opened more than 40 years ago, and most of the more than 200 remaining workers will be out of a job.

“We’ll start the process of shutting it down and turning it over to the town,” said ConAgra spokesman Dave Jackson. Later this year, the Omaha, Neb.-based company is donating the factory and 106 acres near Interstate 40.

ConAgra is leaving, but Garner officials have big hopes for the site. Two food-manufacturing companies have already toured the plant, and four more have expressed interest, said Tony Beasley, Garner’s economic development director.

Several hundred ConAgra employees who will lose their jobs in the coming weeks were treated to a private job fair Wednesday to help ease the economic impact of one of the region's biggest layoffs in years.

Nearly two dozen employers set up booths at the job fair at ConAgra's facility in Garner that used to make Slim Jim snacks. More than 500 ConAgra workers are slated for layoffs in April and May, as the company winds down operations in the wake of a 2009 explosion that killed four people.

ConAgra's human resource director, Tenisha Barnes, said the job fair was a success.

"Steady traffic all day. Great turnout," Barnes said by e-mail. "Recruiters impressed with the caliber of employees – longevity with company, varied skill sets, positive energy/attitudes."

More than a dozen companies are expected to offer interviews and jobs this month exclusively to local ConAgra employees who will lose their jobs in April and May.

About 520 remaining ConAgra employees are slated to lose their jobs in what will be one of the region's biggest mass layoffs when the snack food maker's Garner facility closes in late May.

To help the affected workers find other opportunities, ConAgra and the Capital Area Workforce Development Board have scheduled an employment fair for March 30, about two months before ConAgra shuts down the local facility that produced Slim Jim snacks.

The thriving Garner facility was never able to recover from an explosion in 2009 that killed four people.

ConAgra will close its Garner Slim Jim factory in May and lay off hundreds of remaining workers, nearly two years after an explosion damaged the facility and killed four people.

The company plans to lay off about 234 employees on or around April 16, according to a notice filed with the N.C. Department of Commerce under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

The plant is scheduled to close on May 27, and about 200 remaining employees will be let go or transferred by then, spokesman Dave Jackson said Monday.

After reaching a deal with the union that represents hourly employees, ConAgra agreed to provide severance, outplacement services, job retraining and performance incentives to help employees with the transition, he added.

The town of Garner has created a nonprofit that will take ownership of the ConAgra facility when the company closes down its Slim Jim factory later this year.

ConAgra said last year that it would donate the factory and 106 acres along Interstate 40 to the town when it closes.

The company is also giving Garner $3 million, $500,000 of which is being used to study and market the tract on Jones Sausage Road.

The nonprofit, called the Garner Economic Development Corporation, will accept the assets and use the next eight or nine months to make plans for the property.
 

ConAgra doesn't expect to receive a final insurance settlement related to the June explosion at its Garner Slim Jim plant until later next year.

The company initially projected it would get the insurance money during its current fiscal year, which ends in May.

But "given the complexity of the claim ... and based on additional analysis of the claim process, we now expect the final settlement of the insurance claim to be delayed until fiscal 2011," chief financial officer John Gehring told analysts on a conference call today to discuss ConAgra's second-quarter results.

The Omaha, Neb.-based company lost about half of its Slim Jim production when the explosion destroyed some of the Garner plant, killer four people and injured scores more. ConAgra has shifted some Slim Jim production to a plant in Ohio and also is using outside manufacturers.

ConAgra Foods hosts a memorial gathering at Lake Benson on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009 where the company dedicated a plaque to the victims of June's ... more

ConAgra Foods officials said this morning the company has extensive insurance policies to cover financial losses caused by this month's explosion at its facility in Garner that made Slim Jim snack products.

The June 9 accident killed three people and shut down the packaging area of the plant. The explosion is believed to be caused by a natural gas eruption during the installation of water heating system. It is under investigation by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

CEO Gary Rodkin and other company officials, speaking on a conference call to report fourth quarter earnings, said the property damage and related costs will be covered by property and liability insurance. In addition, business interruption insurance will substantially compensate the company for lost profits resulting from lost Slim Jim sales. Officials did not provide financial details.

This morning's comments echoed information the company issued this week in public filings. ConAgra is shifting some Slim Jim production to other facilities and outside producers. The Garner explosion and reduced Slim Jim output will not affect the company's financial health.

Omaha, Neb.-based ConAgra is the maker of Chef Boyardee, Hunt's tomato sauce, Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, Marie Callender, Peter Pan and other brands.

The Carolina Mudcats and ConAgra Foods in Garner have teamed up to provide a night out at the ballpark for all Garner ConAgra employees on Wednesday (June 24) as the Mudcats host the Jacksonville Suns.

ConAgra employees are encouraged to pick up complimentary tickets for the game at the Guard Shack at the North Side Parking Lot, beginning Friday afternoon. The 2,500 tickets are available to employees at no cost on a first come, first served basis.

“We are pleased our employees will be able to attend the game,” said ConAgra Foods representative Stephanie Childs.  “We hope this game will be an opportunity for our Garner employees and their families to gather with their co-workers and enjoy some time together."

Family and friends of the ConAgra plant explosion victims turn out for a candlelight prayer vigil in Garner on Friday, June 12, 2009.