Innovative pet protein manufacturer NORPEL is celebrating its twentieth anniversary and recently opened the doors on a brand-new processing facility to accommodate new demand for pet proteins, the company announces. The new pet food “prep kitchen” will produce fresh and frozen proteins for pet food manufacturers and enable NORPEL to sustain growth and capitalize on new opportunities in the pet food sector.
Capitalizing on a robust labor market abundant with skilled workers, NORPEL’s new processing facility in northeastern Pennsylvania will create more than 80 new, full-time jobs. Additionally, the new processing facility brings NORPEL closer to raw materials in the region, its customer base, and importantly, the Port of Philadelphia. The new facility will feature three processing lines that will expand the company’s capacity on existing products and enable new opportunities for product innovation and specialization with both customers and vendors.
“NORPEL’s new prep kitchen will be a multi-protein facility that expands NORPEL’s ability to serve the rapidly developing North American pet food industry,” said Michael Tierney, NORPEL’s vice president of business development. “The kitchen will connect brands, manufacturers and consumers to nutritious land proteins. NORPEL will produce new products that meet sustainability and animal welfare standards with the same reliability and quality NORPEL’s partners have come to expect.”
NORPEL has long been a provider of premium and sustainable proteins for pet food manufacturers. As the pet food brands have grown, so has NORPEL as the company supplies the primary proteins for many household-brand name pet products.
“Sustainability continues to be our top priority. The opening of this facility will allow us to reduce our carbon footprint and places NORPEL closer to our customers and suppliers.” said Brady Schofield, NORPEL CEO and co-founder. “Reducing emissions due to transportation, upcycling and offering certified products is just the beginning of our journey in sustainability.”
As NORPEL expands its land-based protein offerings, the company has plans to expand its seafood offerings.
“We are excited to announce we are partnering with the Association of Genuine Alaskan Pollock Producers (GAPP) to develop new ways to utilize Wild Alaskan Pollock into pet food formulas,” announced Schofield. “Wild Alaskan pollock is harvested from the largest certified sustainable fishery on the planet.”
“Integrating wild Alaska pollock into our pet protein lines has been a longstanding goal of NORPEL,” stated co-founder Bob Desautel. Desautel, who is also the president & CEO of Global Seas, is an evangelist for the Wild Alaska Pollock fishery and was instrumental in the industry completing its first- ever Life Cycle Assessment last year, which showed that the fish has one of the lowest carbon footprints of any protein on the planet. Additionally, the Wild Alaskan Pollock fishery was awarded the 2021 Ocean Award for fishery management by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).
“Wild Alaska Pollock will help NORPEL further its commitment to sustainability and deliver an excellent protein for pets,” added Desautel. “Expect wild Alaskan pollock in the pet aisle soon.”
