European Pet Food Firm to Open North American Headquarters

Pet nutrition products maker Farmina Pet Food USA is committing $28.5 million to open its North American headquarters in Reidsville, NC, including manufacturing, R&D and warehousing operations, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced Tuesday.

The company is a part of Italy-based Farmina Pet Foods Holding, which manufactures wet and dry dog and cat food products at plants in Italy, Serbia, and Brazil. Farmina currently operates a sales and marketing office in New York City.

“We believe that Reidsville is the perfect fit for our values of quality and continuous innovation, from the workforce to the production technologies. Utilizing ingredients in Europe, Farmina’s North Carolina kitchen will make to order our Natural&Delicious and Vetlife dry nutritional solutions for cats and dogs,” Angela Russo, chief executive officer and owner of Farmina Holding, said in a statement. “A state-of-the-art microbiological and chemical lab will be equipped to carry out the company’s strict quality control procedures, establishing a new benchmark for creating pet nutrition solutions in the US.”

Farmina also intends to make investments in a network of family-owned regional farms in the southeastern US.

A location in Reidsville was selected after the company considered other locations in the US. To support the project, the North Carolina Economic Investment Committee approved a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) related to the company’s job creation plans. 129 new jobs will open in Reidsville over a five-year term.

Source: Powder Bulk Solids