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Premium dog treat producer Hillside Farms will open a new US facility in southern California. The factory will feature state-of-the-art automation in processing, production and packaging operations, according to the company.
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"We're thrilled to be expanding our production capabilities here in the US and southern California," said Steve King, vice president of sales and marketing. "As a pet-passionate team, we're always looking for ways to better serve our customers and their four-legged family members. This new facility will allow us to expand the availability of our wholesome, lean meat treats throughout North America."
The new facilities will also mark the launch of a new line of jerky treats for the company, American Authentics. Made with lean, US-grown chicken, the treats are high in protein while being low in fat and low in calories, said Hillside Farms.
Supply problems caused by a fire at a petfood production facility in Morinville, Canada, owned by Champion Petfoods have now been resolved.
The fire at the plant that produces the Orijen and Acana petfood brands resulted in supply issues. However, normal operations at the plant resumed nearly three weeks ago, making all products available again. The company says availability has improved even more thanks to the new facility, which offers 25 percent greater production capacity.
Vitakraft-Weke owners, the Wührmann family, has sold the producer of petfoods to two new owners.
According to a report, the two new shareholders are an unnamed private investor and petfood manufacturer Deuerer. The Wührmann family will retain a minority shareholding in the company.
Wenger Manufacturing will offer two Pet Food Processing Technology Seminars in September for plant managers, operations and maintenance personnel, and engineers in the petfood industry.
The first course, Pet Food Processing Technology Seminar, will be held from September 13-15. Hands-on training and classroom sessions will be offered in each of the seminar's two tracks: "Operations" and "Maintenance." The seminar will review extrusion and drying systems procedures and theory, while introducing new technologies for process improvement and product quality. The cost for this program is US$1,500 per person, which includes course notes, morning and afternoon breaks, daily lunch and two evening meals.
The second course, Pet Food Processing Technology Advanced Seminar, will be held from September 20-22. This course is geared toward technology, research and development, and engineering personnel. The advanced seminar will cover the science and theory behind the extrusion process through a blend of classroom and hands-on instructions. Participants will be required to develop a petfood product using a small scale extruder, analyze the process and project the scale-up to a production system. The cost for this program is US$1,500 per person, which includes course notes, morning and afternoon breaks, and lunch each day.
Both courses will take place at Wenger's Technical Center in Sabetha, Kansas, USA. Attendees are required to make their own hotel and travel arrangements. The registration deadline to attend either course is July 30.
Wade Graskewicz, founder of Hi-Standard Pet Food, has acquired Joy Pet Foods and Best Feeds, adding 22 new products to the portfolio of the Ogden, Illinois, USA, American Nutrition plant where his products are produced.
"The acquisition of Joy Pet Foods will strengthen our business platform and allow us to accelerate our growth plans for both brands," said Graskewicz. The combined brands have distribution in 44 states and two Canadian provinces, Japan and Ghana. Graskewicz said he has plans to acquire a larger warehouse to accommodate his acquisition.
More pet owners are looking to the idea of making their pets' food alongside their human family meals, in spite of the challenges it presents.
According to many veterinarians and petfood producers, it can be difficult to formulate an animal's diet at home. “When you open a bag or can or box of petfood, you know that every kibble or food in the can is going to be formulated to meet the nutritional needs of the animals according to the feeding directions on the bag,” said Nancy K. Cook, vice president at the Pet Food Institute. Still, those who choose to make their pets' food themselves have cited lack of health problems and longevity as two reasons why they go homemade. Others simply want their pets' eating habits to reflect their own.
Experts say that pet owners must be very careful. If pets are not fed the correct balance of proteins, fats, minerals and vitamins, according to clinical nutritionist Joseph J. Wakshlag with the Baker Institute for Animal Health at Cornell University, they can experience several health disorders, including anemia, broken bones and loss of teeth from lack of calcium.
A Practical Short Course on Feeds & Pet Food Extrusion will be presented Jan. 30 through Feb. 4, 2011 at Texas A&M University.
The program will cover information on designing new feed mills, and selecting conveying, drying, grinding, conditioning and feed mixing equipment. Texas A&M staff, industry representatives and consultants will review current practices for processes like petfood production; extrusion of floating, sinking and high fat feeds; spraying and coating fats, digests and preservatives; use of encapsulated ingredients and preparation of premixes. Practical demonstrations of petfood, vacuum coating and more will be given on four major types of extruders using various shaping dies.
Reservations for the event are accepted on a first-come basis. For more information, programs and application forms contact Dr. Mian N. Riaz by phone at +1.979.845.2774 or by E-mail at mnriaz@tamu.edu.
My Perfect Pet opened its Poway, California, USA, factory doors, allowing the public to view petfood production daily during business hours.
The company produces cooked dog food that is sold frozen, with only human-grade ingredients from restaurant food distributors, it says. My Perfect Pet's 4,100-square-foot facility features a lobby with a window that looks into the kitchen where the food is made.
"We invite people to come into the facility here and watch the entire operation," said company owner Karen Scoggins.
A grand opening celebration took place from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on September 11, at the My Perfect Pet plant. The plant is located at 12655 Danielson Court in Poway, California, USA.
Patrick Thesing, former owner of North Star Foods, proposed building a research and business development center outside of St. Charles, Minn, according to the Winona Daily News .
The facility would focus on petfood production and be located on a 13-acre lot at 23671 County Road 37. Initially the workforce would consist of two to four people, but could grow to up to 15 employees, as stated in Thesing's proposal. The request for a conditional-use permit for the facility will be presented for the Winona County Planning Commission on Thursday, July 15.
Power and Bulk now is offering a new batch mixing class through the company’s Online Training Center.
In this first session of a three-part lecture series, “Mixing and Blending Fundamentals”, Eric Maynard, Senior Engineering Consultant with Jenike & Johanson, covers the basics of batch mixing.
Maynard discusses petfood batch mixing processes are described for common industrial applications. The differences between mixing and blending are presented, including the three basic mechanisms of mixing.
The American Feed Industry Association’s (AFIA) Pet Food Committee and USPOULTRY's Poultry Protein & Fat Council organized and sponsored the Pet Food Conference during the 2010 International Feed Expo.
The two-day Pet Food Conference, the largest in the event's history, included speakers such as Dr. Dan McChesney of the US Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine and Dr. Frank Jones of the University of Arkansas. Both addressed topics related to controlling Salmonella in the production of petfood.
