Tyson Foods Opens Doors to $45 Million Discovery Center

March 7, 2007 - Tyson Foods Inc. unveils its new $45 million research and development facility designed to enhance the company's ability to create new foods and bring them to market more quickly. Dubbed the "Discovery Center", the sleek 100,000-square-foot facility located on the campus of Tyson's World Headquarters in Springdale, Ark., opened in mid-January and boasts test kitchens, tasting booths and a mini-factory where new products can be tested on production lines. The facility replaces three smaller research offices.

Executives say concentrating the work in one center will speed development of new products. "The Discovery Center is designed for joint value creation with our customers," says Hal Carper, senior vice president of Corporate Research and Development for Tyson. "Here our food innovation teams collaborate with customers to research consumer needs, then design and test new products and packaging. We can then produce products on a test basis in a real-life manufacturing environment."

The Discovery Center has 19 research kitchens, some simulating restaurant settings and home kitchens. Rows of brushed stainless steel grills and other appliances line the kitchens, all on wheels so work spaces can be reorganized and updated. There are focus group interview rooms with audiovisual equipment and rows of narrow tasting booths with touch-screen computers for testers to register their findings

"It's more than just a building. It's a hub of food innovation enabling us to combine consumer insights with culinary and food manufacturing expertise to develop great-tasting chicken, beef and pork products," says Tyson Foods President and Chief Executive Officer Richard L. Bond.