IRVING, Texas, June 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE: DAR) today announced it has entered into a letter of intent with Butterball, LLC to explore the construction of a new poultry rendering plant adjacent to Butterball's Mt. Olive, North Carolina, facility.

The new facility being explored is anticipated to be able to process about 18 million pounds of material weekly through three lines. Pending permits and the execution of definitive agreements, construction would likely begin in early 2024 and be completed in 2025.

"Darling Ingredients is committed to supporting its customers and agricultural growth in North Carolina," said Randall C. Stuewe, Darling Ingredients Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "A new Mt. Olive rendering facility strengthens rendering reliability, increases capacity and provides a critical service that transforms this material into invaluable ingredients and feedstock for renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel."

"Butterball has been a proud, long-time member of the Mt. Olive community, providing positive economic impacts, including jobs, for many in the area," said Jay Jandrain, President and Chief Executive Officer of Butterball, LLC. "We're excited to explore the potential environmental and safety benefits of an improved operating footprint at Mt. Olive."

"Today's announcement is great news for North Carolina's agriculture industry," said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. "As we continue to grow, so does the need for facilities like this one. Increasing our rendering capacity in the state provides us the ability to turn an otherwise unusable animal material into a useable product. This is an essential service for our agriculture community and greatly needed capacity to help meet demand. I wish Butterball and Darling Ingredients success in this endeavor."

About Darling Ingredients
Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE: DAR) is the largest publicly traded company turning edible by-products and food waste into sustainable products and a leading producer of renewable energy. Recognized as a sustainability leader, the company operates more than 260 facilities in over 15 countries and repurposes approximately 15% of the world's meat industry waste streams into value-added products, such as green energy, renewable diesel, collagen, fertilizer, animal proteins and meals, and pet food ingredients. To learn more, visit darlingii.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This release may contain "forward-looking statements," which include information concerning the Company's plans, objectives, goals, strategies, capital expenditures and other information that is not historical information. When used in this release, the words "outlook," "forecast," "estimates," "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "plans," "intends," "believes," "will" and variations of such words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations and beliefs and various assumptions. There can be no assurance that the Company will realize these expectations or that these beliefs will prove correct. There are a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this release. These include the Company's ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the project. Numerous other factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed as forward-looking statements. Other risk factors include those that are discussed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which it is made or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances.

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