National Beef Packing Company, one of four major U.S. beef processors, said it suspended production at its Liberal, Kansas, plant for a second day on Friday, after a fire.
The company said it plans to resume production on Monday, following a blaze Wednesday night in the facility’s loading dock area. The plant processes about 6,000 cattle per day, which accounts for roughly five per cent of daily U.S. production.
Local media outlet KSN News reported the fire began in loading trailers and spread to the building. All employees were safely evacuated. Most of the damage was to trailers loaded with boxed beef, however overhead doors in the loading dock and the building’s exterior walls were also affected.