Purina has completed a $156 million expansion at its Clinton, Iowa, factory. The expansion includes new cooking and packaging lines that will increase the site’s capacity and production capabilities to make a variety of pet food brands, including Purina One, Purina Pro Plan, and Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets. The expansion was undertaken due to the growing demand from pet owners for nutritious, science-based dog and cat foods using high-quality and trusted ingredients. It has created 96 new positions at the factory, which now employs approximately 570 people.
In addition, the expansion includes a new 3,800-sq-ft technical training center that will be the center for employee onboarding and incorporates both structured and self-driven training with digital tools and replicas of production equipment for employees to practice on.
Purina also purchased a building adjacent to the factory that has been retrofitted for the packaging and storage of two unique Purina brands, Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Supplements, a collaboration between Purina nutritionists, researchers, and veterinarians, and Just Right, Purina’s first personalized dog food brand. Through a subscription-based e-commerce model, Just Right is created using information provided by dog owners, balanced by Purina’s nutritional experts and hand scooped and measured with personalized feeding instructions for each unique dog. All blends are 100% complete and balanced, prepared, and packaged exclusively in Clinton.
“The pet care industry is dynamic and thriving, and Purina’s role as the category leader is one that we take seriously,” says Andrea Faccio, chief growth officer at Purina. “The ongoing investment in our business, including this expansion in Clinton, sets us up for continued growth in the future and helps us meet increasing demand from pet owners who have placed their trust in Purina to deliver nutritious and high-quality dog and cat foods.”
