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One of the largest pet food suppliers in the U.S. is expanding its operations with a major new factory in Northeast Kansas.
Hill’s Pet Nutrition announced June 18 that it plans to spend more than $250 million to construct a plant in the city of Tonganoxie, situated between Kansas City and the company’s Topeka headquarters.
The project is expected to create 80 new jobs by 2025 and will further boost the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor from Columbia, Missouri, to Manhattan, Kansas, a stretch that boasts the single largest concentration of animal health companies in the world at more than 300. According to the Kansas Department of Commerce and Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, companies in the corridor account for 56% of annual global animal health, diagnostics, and pet food sales.
Pending final local approvals, construction on the facility is expected to start later this year and finish by 2023.
Hill’s cited Tonganoxie’s favorable location, talent pool, and nearby distributors and suppliers as reasons it was chosen for the new factory.
Hill’s currently has four production sites in the U.S., including Kansas factories in Emporia and Topeka.
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