Simmons Pet Food broke ground today on a $38 (€32) million Flexible Packaging Facility expansion project in Emporia. It is a leading North American private-label and contract manufacturer of wet and dry pet food and treats.
The facility currently employs 500 people and the new investment will increase operations by 200,000 square feet and will create approximately 100 new jobs. The company expects to begin operations in 2019.
“The expansion of our operations in Emporia represents a story about the strength of good people doing great work, strong performance and dependable partnerships,” said Jason Beyer, vice president of operations at Emporia’s Simmons facility. “Emporia is the place we call home, and we are proud to be part of helping this community grow through job creation.”
The Emporia Flexible Packaging Facility will increase Simmons Pet Food’s capacity for flexible production and packaging for select wet pet food products. With demand for cup, tub and pouch packaging formats projected to exceed the existing capabilities, this expansion will add substantial capacity to ensure Simmons Pet Food meets customer demand.
“One hundred additional jobs will be a strong start, but this new facility could accommodate more jobs if customers continue to increase their need for our wet pet food product,” Beyer said. “Our current estimated annual payroll based on 500 jobs is $33.608.000 (€29.012.431). One hundred more jobs will increase the annual estimated payroll by about $5.8 (€5) million.”
The expansion will increase yearly facility output to an estimated 12.4 (€10.7) million cases of wet pet food cups and 2.4 (€2) million cases of tubs when it reaches full capacity in 2022.
