Purina, Europe’s leading pet care company, has today announced a new phase of development for its Portogruaro production facility. As the Italian factory marks its 40th anniversary, the company is investing EU€55 million in the site through to 2029.
The investment will strengthen the company’s European manufacturing network and support growing demand for super-premium and specialist pet nutrition. As Purina looks to further enhance its manufacturing expertise and innovation capabilities, the transformation programme will progressively upgrade and modernise the factory.
The project includes progressive interventions across the entire factory while maintaining production continuity and further strengthening the site’s strategic role within the European manufacturing network.
The announcement highlights Portogruaro’s continued strategic role within Purina’s European manufacturing network. The first investment is aimed at upgrading and modernising the site to meet the increasing and evolving demand in the super-premium petfood segment, while the second focuses on enhancing the wastewater treatment plant.
Alongside production development, the company continues to invest in the evolution of its industrial processes to make them increasingly sustainable and innovative. The construction of a new Waste Water Treatment Plant, an internal facility for wastewater treatment that will allow the factory to directly manage an activity currently entrusted to external plants.
The investments announced in Portogruaro are part of Purina’s broader industrial development strategy in Italy, which also includes the recent announcement of the new Purina factory in Mantova. The two complementary production hubs strengthen Purina’s industrial presence in the country and consolidate Italy’s increasingly central role within the European manufacturing network.
Today, Portogruaro is not only a production site for some of Purina’s flagship premium brands, including PURINA PRO PLAN® and PURINA ONE®, but also a competence hub that enables innovation and high-quality standards. The Portogruaro factory is responsible for translating scientific research, continuous innovation and manufacturing excellence into high-quality products that help improve the wellbeing of pets.
Founded in 1986, the Portogruaro factory is one of the most advanced sites within Purina’s European network and a centre of excellence for the production of food for cats and dogs. Over time, the site has progressively strengthened its strategic role thanks to distinctive expertise in dry petfood production, quality controls, operational excellence, innovation, environmental sustainability and the industrialisation of new products.
Fabio Degli Esposti, Managing Director of Purina Italy and Regional Director Southern Europe, said, “With Portogruaro and Mantova, Purina confirms a clear choice: to continue investing to support the growth of pet care in Europe. The new investments announced today upgrade a site that, for forty years, has contributed to the quality and innovation of Purina’s portfolio, strengthen our expertise in the super-premium segment and the strategic role of both Portogruaro and the new factory that will be built in Mantova within Purina’s European manufacturing network.”
Filippo Cesari, Factory Manager of the Purina Portogruaro site, added, “For our factory, this anniversary represents both a significant milestone and the starting point of a new phase of development. Over the past forty years, Portogruaro has built distinctive expertise in dry petfood production, quality, innovation and operational excellence. The projects will improve the flexibility, efficiency and sustainability of our production processes. This journey is made possible by the daily contribution of the people working at the site, whose skills and passion are our true asset.”