JACKSON, Miss. — Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: CALM) today announced that the Company’s egg complex in Shady Dale, GA, was damaged by a fire on June 28, 2010. The loss is fully insured, including the loss of production. The fire destroyed one of the 12 layer houses, with additional loss of laying hens at three adjoining houses due to smoke inhalation. There were no personal injuries sustained and no physical damage to the rest of the complex. An investigation is underway to determine the origin of the fire.
The Shady Dale facility includes a processing plant, feed mill, three pullet houses, and 12 layer houses. Approximately 200,000 laying hens were lost due to the fire and represent less than 1% of the company’s production capacity. The Company will cover customer orders from other Cal-Maine facilities.
Fred Adams, chairman and chief executive officer of Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., remarked, “The fire occurred in a layer house that was not occupied at the time due to a normal bird-replacing cycle. We are very fortunate that there were no personal injuries sustained and no damage to our processing plant in Shady Dale. At this time, we are still assessing the total extent of the damage caused by this accident. We believe the fire will have minimal financial impact on our operations and do not expect any disruption to our customers’ deliveries.”
Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. is primarily engaged in the production, grading, packing and sale of fresh shell eggs. The Company, which is headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi, currently is the largest producer and distributor of fresh shell eggs in the United States and sells the majority of its shell eggs in approximately 29 states across the southwestern, southeastern, mid-western and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.
Statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties (contained in the Company’s SEC filings) that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. SEC filings may be obtained from the SEC or by contacting the Company.
Source: Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.
