Announcement set for Aberdeen beef plant

Talk about it

An announcement on the future of Northern Beef Packers, a long-beleaguered project intended to be constructed outside of Aberdeen, is scheduled for today.

The announcement is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Northern Beef Packers campus. Gov. Mike Rounds and other state and local officials are scheduled to attend.

The proposed $40 million beef-processing plant, projected to employ about 500 people and process 1,500 cattle per day at full operation, was initially scheduled to open at the end of 2007. Instead, years of delays and controversy have held the project back.

The Aberdeen American News reported last week that company officials hope to open the partially built plant by summer. No further details were provided in a news release Monday from state government about today’s announcement.

The project began in 2005, according to the American News. It was first delayed by flooding, then an inability to finalize financing. In June, the state approved access to a $30 million construction loan from a small group of secret investors called Epoch Star Limited, a specialpurpose entity incorporated in the British Virgin Islands.

Controversies surrounding the plant have included liens against it for unpaid bills and taxes.

In April 2008, a dispute over billed charges led to a $2.1 million lien against the plant.

By 2009, a total of 12 liens totaling just under $8 million had been filed against the project.

In November 2009, Dennis Hellwig, the project’s largest investor and spokesperson, was replaced by Oshik Song. By then, 24 liens totaling more than $15 million had been filed against the plant. In addition, Brown County officials said the plant owed $128,140 in 2008 property taxes.

Last week, the American News reported the project is again delinquent in paying property taxes that were due at the end of October and owes $258,626.

In February of this year, Rounds announced the South Dakota Board of Economic Development approved a $5 million loan for the plant.

By then, Oshik Song was known as the new owner and sole member of the management LLC. The management LLC itself was listed as the general partner.

On the 2009 annual report filed March 30, David Palmer was listed as president and CEO for the management LLC.

Tags: northern beef packers, news, state, aberdeen