GREENFIELD, Ind. — One of America’s oldest meatpacking firms recently announced the building of a $43.5 million distribution center in Hancock County.

The Feb. 18 announcement stated John Morrell Food Group will build the 426,000 square-foot refrigerated facility in Axcess 70 Business Park, located in the Mt. Comfort community just north of Interstate 70, roughly halfway between Indianapolis and Greenfield, the county seat.

When completed in 10-12 months, the warehouse will supply meat products to Indiana and surrounding states, said Skip Kuker, executive director of the Hancock Economic Development Council.

“We have the logistical infrastructure for trucking with I-70,” he said, noting the proximity to Indianapolis, which is also served by interstates 65, 74 and 69. “Secondly, we have a workforce of 1.2 million, ages 18 to 60, within a 45-minute drive.”

The facility is expected to create as many as 260 jobs by the end of 2016, the company said.

Morrell also received incentives including $1.5 million in conditional tax credits and $250,000 in infrastructure assistance from the Indiana Economic Development Corp., and a 10-year tax abatement – saving $5.1 million – from the county.

“The abatements are predicated on the workers they hire,” Kuker said. “and the wages they’re paid.”

Morrell, a division of Smithfield Foods, includes Armour and Eckrich meat products, as well as Nathan’s hot dogs. While the announced expansion is purely logistical, with agricultural products sourced throughout the region, local producers see it as a positive development.

“It’s very exciting to see that kind of investment being made, and to see more jobs in agriculture,” said Greenfield pork producer Heather Hill. “Most of our pigs go to processing and end up in grocery stores, so anything like this is a good sign overall.”

Kuker noted with Morrell’s expansion, in addition to bringing meatpacker Peer Foods to Hancock County two years ago, “They create jobs there, and ancillary jobs in agriculture.

“That shows there is confidence in the ag community, that they invested millions of dollars – they don’t do it on a whim.”