Colgate-Palmolive’s pet division has invested heavily in driving capacity and flexibility to bring Hill’s Pet Nutrition into new growth segments across various markets, Noel Wallace, CEO of Colgate-Palmolive, said during the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) conference on Feb. 23 in Boca Raton, Florida, USA.
These innovations are exemplified by the wet products coming out of Hill’s Tonganoxie, Kansas plant, which is the company’s most sophisticated plant worldwide, he said.
“It's allowing us to really penetrate the market with a whole assortment of different types of products in the wet segment that we historically didn't have in the past,” Wallace said. “This is also going to allow us to increase shelf space and compete in segments that are rapidly growing around the world.”
The Tonganoxie plant opened in Oct. 2023. The 365,000-square-foot facility increased the company's production capacity for canned pet food and facilitated continued expansion of Hill's Science Diet and Prescription Diet brands. The facility is located on more than 80 acres.
The Hill's Tonganoxie plant incorporates strategic automation and technological advancements in the pet food industry. The facility was designed to be “smart.” Some of the innovations include:
- Artificial Intelligence to power a digital food safety vigilance system
- Automation and robotic devices
- Enhanced food safety systems
- End-to-end digital process/safety monitoring
The goal of these technologies and processes is to improve speed to market by shortening the production cycle, while also offering long-term flexibility to innovate new formats and products.
About Hill’s Pet Nutrition
Hill's Pet Nutrition sells more than 300 products, principally through authorized pet supply retailers and veterinarians in more than 80 countries worldwide, according to Petfood Industry’s top companies database. Hill's operates major manufacturing and warehousing facilities in Bowling Green, Kentucky; Topeka, Kansas; Emporia, Kansas; and Richmond, Indiana, USA. Its primary research center is located in Topeka, Kansas, USA. Hill's also runs major manufacturing and warehousing facilities in the Czech Republic and the Netherlands.
