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Nov 07, 2009 (The Bismarck Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A South Korean company plans to open a beef processing plant in the Bismarck-Mandan area to produce meat for export and domestic sales.

FK Corp. USA Inc., a North Dakota-incorporated subsidiary of a Korean company, is in the process of siting a plant that could eventually process 700 to 800 head of cattle a day and export 60 percent of its beef to South Korea. Executive Vice President Hank Imm said the company has been working with state officials to develop a plan for the business and settle on a location.

While a site has not been chosen, FK has worked with the Bismarck-Mandan Development Association to look at possibilities in Morton or Burleigh Counties.

"It's known that the meat quality of northern cattle is better than in the southern U.S.," Imm said. The company believes that processing and packaging beef in the same location will make producing for export more profitable.

The plant could employ around 370 people, including hourly workers and managers, once it is working at capacity, Imm said. Construction would be completed in one-and-a-half to two years "once the shovel goes into the ground." The company is in the process of hiring an engineering firm to plan the facility, Imm said.

Until a new plant is up and running, FK is considering options to lease or buy an existing plant in the state.

FK worked with the Agricultural Products Utilization Commission, which helped them pay for a feasibility study. Imm, who is based in the Minneapolis area, said his company has been looking at North Dakota for about a year and a half. This is the firm's first business venture in North America.

South Korea has a population of more than 48 million in an area a little more than half the size of North Dakota and must import part of its food supply. American beef imports were banned in South Korea until 2008. The end of the ban created an opportunity for FK Corp. to import U.S. beef, and siting a plant here "will ensure a dependable and consistent quality" for the Korean market, Imm said.

Russ Staiger, president of the Bismarck-Mandan Development Association, said a processing facility the size of what FK plans would be a boost for state cattle ranchers.

"It puts their market literally in their backyard," he said.

(Reach reporter Christopher Bjorke at 250-8261 or chris.bjorke@bismarcktribune.com.)

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Christopher Bjorke

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