Grant Packing adds new space, equipment

Grant Packing has added a new walk-in freezer and several pieces of equipment to the business recently, both due to Covid and the continuously advancing industry.

Justin Coats, owner of Grant Packing, said the addition of new freezer space is somewhat related to Covid, and also because it simply was the best path at the time.

“We have always been short on freezer space, and we had a freezer fail,” Coats said. “That kind of helped made the decision that we needed to remove the freezer altogether.”

The building itself is old, he added, and the old freezer had served its purpose. It could be repaired, but more freezer space was necessary.

The pandemic added additional need for more freezer space, because early on when Covid first struck, Grant Packing experienced an increase in business.

Concrete for the 25 by 32 feet freezer was poured in May, and the freezer was operational by the middle of July, according to Coats. He estimates around 10,000 pounds of meat could be stored in the new space.

Besides adding new space to the building, Coats has acquired new machinery to help make certain parts of the packing process more efficient.

For nearly three months now, they have been using a new hamburger stuffer, which is portion controlled and self-feeding. This means the meat is fed through the machine in precise amounts.

To view the entire story, purchase a Grant Tribune-Sentinel or go to our e-subscription page to purchase a single e-copy or subscribe to the print and/or e-edition.