The meat company has announced a $1 million plan to refurbish and reopen the former casing plant at its Finegand site after poor demand caused its closure in 2005.
Silver Fern Farms Finegand plant manager Phil Shuker announced the expansion at the launch of the Ready, Steady, Work course in Balclutha yesterday morning.
Positions at the casing facility would first be offered to existing employees, but there would be 40 jobs in a range of positions at the Finegand plant created in total, Mr Shuker said.
''We need people with initiative to pick up these jobs.
''It's a very exciting development in the region.''
The new facility, which is forecast to use less than half the water the previous system did, is expected to be running by the end of the year.
The building will be upgraded to meet export and safety requirements, and equipment then installed.
Mr Shuker said equipment would be sourced in New Zealand where possible.
Clutha Mayor Bryan Cadogan, who has previously worked in a casing plant, said it was good news for the district and the Ready, Steady, Work programme.
''It is brilliant for Silver Fern Farms, and it is brilliant for the district.
''Silver Fern Farms have been a supporter of this programme from the start. These 40 new roles in our district will be a great help for our ambitions of realising this goal,'' Mr Cadogan said.
Silver Fern Farms chief executive Keith Cooper said in a statement yesterday the $1 million facility would take previously exported part-processed ''green lamb runners'' through to a processed sausage casing stage for export markets across the world.
''This development will create 40 new fulltime roles across our Balclutha-Finegand operations. It will create value from a product that will add to the profitability of our sheep meat business in the short-medium term.''
Green casings will be used from the Finegand site and four other Silver Fern Farms plants across the country.
The plant will be operational year-round.
Previously, ''green runners'' were exported in part-processed form to China for further processing.
