SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Aberdeen's mayor says the new owners of a beef plant that closed in 2012 before ramping up production have fired up the equipment and are processing dozens of cattle a day.

That's welcome news for ranchers in the region tired of having to truck their animals hundreds of miles away.

Aberdeen Mayor Mike Levsen says he's not sure of exact production numbers, but New Angus LLC is slaughtering between a couple dozen and 100 head a day as it trains employees and tests equipment.

The 420,000-square-foot facility is capable of processing 1,500 head of cattle per day at full capacity.

New Angus is owned by San Francisco-based investment firm White Oak Global Advisors, which bought the shuttered Northern Beef Packers for $44.3 million in a December 2013 bankruptcy auction.

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