Cudahy meat plant resumes operation next week; company will rebuild

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Patrick Cudahy’s owners ended days of speculation by saying they would re-build the Milwaukee area meat plant that was heavily damaged by Sunday night’s fire.

Smithfield Foods said production could resume next week in areas not affected by the blaze. And up to 80 percent of the plant’s 1,400 production workers would be back on the job within a couple weeks.

The blaze was finally put out Wednesday. Company president William Otis says total damages could exceed $50 million, and the assessment will begin as soon as possible.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Cudahy Fire Chief Dan Mayer said hazmat teams were still monitoring a smell of ammonia detected early Wednesday. But he said it did pose a health danger.

Employees were nervous about whether the 121-year-old Patrick Cudahy plant would re-build, considering the recession and the recent Wisconsin losses of General Motors and other employers.

But Cudahy Mayor Ryan McCue says that in a few years, the re-built plant could have more employees than it did before the fire.

Smithfield vice president Dennis Treacy said the state Commerce Department offered its assistance.

And he said the firm appreciates what the plant has meant to generations of people within the community.

Production workers have been filing for unemployment pay, but the company said it would continue its fringe benefits.

The plant’s main offices have re-opened, and at least some business activities have resumed.

Tags: patrick cudahy, wilson, milwaukee, rebuild