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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 (LEEV’-sehn) 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.