DSM, a global purpose-led health and nutrition company, has announced that it plans to build a next-generation nutritional premix plant in Tonganoxie, Kansas, creating 28 jobs.

The new location will supply the petfood industry with high-quality nutritional premixes for use in branded petfood products worldwide. The facility is expected to break ground in July 2023 and be fully operational by early 2025.

“The petfood industry has been looking for a better source for the highest quality, traceable and reliable nutritional ingredients for their products and we are thrilled to be able to deliver for the industry and for ‘pet parents’ with this new facility in Tonganoxie,” says DSM Co-CEO, Dimitri de Vreeze. “We appreciate the support of Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, the Kansas Department of Commerce, the Leavenworth County Development Corporation, the City of Tonganoxie, Evergy and the Animal Health Corridor in making this state-of-the-art facility a reality.”

“DSM is a welcome addition to Kansas and the Animal Health Corridor,” says Kansas Governor Laura Kelly. “Having another industry leader locate here further enhances the globally recognised animal health ecosystem that is anchored in Kansas.”

The facility will be strategically located in the KC Animal Health Corridor, close to many of the industry-leading petfood manufacturers, reducing supply chain risk and logistics expense.

“Leavenworth County Development Corporation would like to thank all the regional, state, and local entities that have worked cooperatively on this project,” says president of the Leavenworth County Development Corporation, Jeremy Greenamyre. “This is precisely the type of company we hoped would consider our community as a place to invest and locate. We welcome DSM to the Tonganoxie Business Park.”

“We’re excited to learn more about DSM becoming a new corporate neighbor in our community,” says Tonganoxie Mayor David Frese. “This is another smart growth opportunity to continue building our future with high-quality jobs and sustainable development.”

The Kansas facility will feature precision micro-batching capability, allowing for precise automated micro-addition of numerous ingredients to premixes in a fully traceable manner. This will support the use of a broader range of DSM and third-party ingredients, allowing the company to create more inclusive and unique premix offerings to meet the evolving needs of the petfood industry and creating peace of mind to customers in regard to quality, safety and reliability.

Importantly, the increased process automation of the state-of-the-art plant will allow for greater traceability, accuracy and automated weight verification, as each batch moves in its own containerised transport system in an automated manner through the facility. This will allow DSM to provide the speed and accuracy in high demand by customers in the pet food industry.

“As the highest concentration of animal health assets in the world, the Kansas City region is home to a robust industry network, as well as abundant manufacturing and distribution resources,” says Kimberly Young, president of the KC Animal Health Corridor. “The region continues to attract top companies in the industry, and we’re proud that DSM has selected the Corridor for this state-of-the-art, innovative new facility.”

In addition to meeting all food safety requirements and exceeding current standards for petfood production, the facility is designed with sustainability in mind. The plant’s automated mixing vessels will reduce waste by decreasing flushes necessary for sequencing and will operate on 100 percent renewable electricity, consistent with all DSM facilities in North America.