Adapted from a press release:
Mars Petcare plans to invest a further US$117 million in its Fort Smith, Arkansas, USA pet food manufacturing facility. This outlay will fund the addition of two production lines, support construction of a new warehouse, allow for updates to existing equipment and create more than 140 new full-time jobs.
This pet food facility expansion adds to the US$145 million expenditure announced in January, which will create 120 jobs.
Facility expansion has begun. All phases of the project are scheduled for completion in 2023. With the latest investment, Mars Petcare will build a new 47,000 square-foot warehouse and add two additional production lines to the facility. This, plus new production lines previously announced, a total of four, will increase production capacity by more than 75%, which is equivalent to more than 1 billion meals per year.
Collectively, Mars Petcare has invested a total of nearly US$540 million in its Fort Smith facility.
Since opening in September 2009, the Fort Smith facility, which is one of 14 Mars Petcare sites in the United States, was the first LEED manufacturing site in the state of Arkansas and first LEED-certified pet care plant. The facility is LEED-Gold certified from the United States Green Building Council and achieved gold status for its efforts to recycle water, reduce energy use, and protect against erosion and light pollution.
Currently employing approximately 370 Associates, Fort Smith has been a fundamental manufacturing hub for tray format foods, making brands like Cesar, Sheba, Nutro, Iams and Crave.
More about Mars Petcare
According to Petfood Industry’s Top Pet Food Companies Current Data, Mars Petcare is the world's highest annual revenue pet food company. In 2020, the company’s revenue reached US$18,085,000,000. Its nearly 50 pet food brands include five, billion-dollar brands. The company is increasingly looking to diversify its revenue streams. Mars Petcare also owns the BluePearl chain of emergency and specialty veterinary care clinics Banfield and VCA animal hospitals.
