Pet food maker Royal Canin's 224,000-square-foot plant in North Sioux City is shown in February 2019. The pet food maker on Thursday announced a $185 million expansion that will create 149 new jobs.Â
NORTH SIOUX CITY — Royal Canin's specialized pet foods soon will be produced inside a state-of-the-art facility in North Sioux City.
The pet food maker is nearing completion of a 224,000-square-foot factory that is almost twice the size of its current facility and will allow it to nearly double its production capacity.
"It's a very, very exciting time right now," site director Daniel Klapuch said.
The new building is essentially complete, he said, with final preparations taking place to make the building a functioning factory. Some small batches of pet food are being made in the new facility as workers continue to test equipment on the new production line.
The first two phases of the expansion are expected to be completed in late 2020 or early 2021, Klapuch said. Future phases will add more production lines inside the factory at 630 N. Derby Lane. The new building is designed for that future growth. One of the walls can be removed to expand the building and add more production lines.
The expansion project, at a cost in excess of $100 million, was necessary for three reasons, Klapuch said. It will increase the quality and safety of the pet food produced there, improve worker safety by implementing new equipment and accommodate a growing demand for the company's pet food products.
"We still continue to see tremendous growth," Klapuch said.
He said the expansion will ultimately add 25 new jobs to the current work force of 235.
Production continues in the current 125,000-square-foot factory, which will eventually be phased out and demolished after the new factory is up and running.
Founded by a veterinary surgeon in a French village in 1967, Royal Canin manufacturers products geared toward the age and size of animals and distributes them primarily through veterinarians' offices, breeders and specialty retailers such as PetSmart and Petco. A division of Mars Petcare, Royal Canin specializes in specialty diets for a variety of animal health conditions. The company also has developed pet food for specific breeds of dogs and cats.
"We believe our food is very much like medicine," Klapuch said. "We are truly a science-based nutritional product."
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On Thursday, pet food maker @RoyalCanin announced a $185 million expansion of its North Sioux City plant that it says will create 149 new full…
Pet food maker Royal Canin's 224,000-square-foot plant in North Sioux City is shown in February 2019. The pet food maker on Thursday announced a $185 million expansion that will create 149 new jobs.Â
