Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has announced that Nestlé Purina will create as many as 240 new jobs and invest US$320 million in a manufacturing facility and distribution center in Hartwell, Georgia. The facility will be Purina’s first new factory in the US in 20 years.
Purina plans to create as many as 240 jobs over the next five years at the new location. The company will invest US$320 million at the site by the end of 2023 and expects to close on the property later this year, contingent on completion of due diligence and satisfaction of closing conditions. Distribution center operations are expected to begin in 2018, with production to follow in 2019.
"Our business-friendly climate, highly-skilled workforce and unmatched logistics infrastructure continue to attract industry-leading manufacturers like Purina to Georgia," said Deal in a company press release. "With this new facility, Purina will build upon Georgia's strategic resources while yielding economic benefits for the Hart County community. We appreciate Purina's significant investment and look forward to the company's success here."
Georgia Department of Economic Development Senior Project Manager Joshua Stephens represented the global commerce division throughout the project in collaboration with the Hart County Industrial Development Authority and Georgia Power.
Purina PetCare in the news
At US$12.1 billion, Nestlé Purina PetCare attained the second-highest annual revenue in 2016 of all pet food companies worldwide.
Purina faced several legal issues in 2016. Like Hill’s and Mars, Purina was included in the class action lawsuit against prescription pet foods. In November 2016, a California federal judge dismissed a 2015 class action lawsuit that alleged Purina’s Beneful dry food sickened dogs. On May 23, Hormel filed a lawsuit against Purina in the United States District Court of Minnesota, which alleged that Beggin’ Strips infringed on Hormel’s “Black Label” trademark.
Purina also had a busy year outside the courtroom. Nestlé Purina opened a US$86 million pet food factory in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil in that will make wet food for cats and dogs from the Friskies, Cat Chow, Pro Plan and Dog Chow ranges. In Bük, Hungary, Purina opened a new production hall at its facility in February 2017, making the plant Purina’s largest pet food production center in Europe. Also in February, Purina’s Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, pet food and treat manufacturing facility achieved zero waste to landfill status, the seventh Purina facility to do so in the US.
