Nestlé Purina Opens $450M Pet Food Plant

Nestlé Purina PetCare has begun operation at the pet care company's newest pet food factory in Eden, NC. It took more than three years of work to bring the more than $450 million operation to life and establish the first Nestlé manufacturing facility in the state.

The new 1.3-million-sq.-ft Purina facility in Eden repurposed 80% of a former brewery's existing structure. New modern technologies, which transform and enhance the overall production process, include the first-ever vertical dryer installed in a Purina US factory as well as automated systems in warehousing and the freezer space. The new facility also features a first-of-its-kind Manufacturing Experience Center, designed to introduce modern manufacturing to the next generation of workforce.

"... Our new factory in Eden is a huge step to continue meeting that growing demand, and the latest example of the continued investment being made across our U.S. manufacturing network," said "Demand for our products continues to grow and opening this new facility, our first manufacturing operation in North Carolina, allows us to better serve our consumers, particularly in the eastern and southeastern parts of the country," Purina Chief Executive Officer Nina Leigh Krueger said.

The new Purina factory has already created more than 300 new positions, with plans to add more personnel in the future. Between 2020 and 2025, Nestlé plans to invest $2 billion in Purina's factory and capital expansion projects to enhance its manufacturing footprint. A 24th factory is currently under construction in Williamsburg Township, OH, and is expected to be fully operational in the next 12 months.

On 1,350 acres extending to the Virginia state line, the new Purina factory in Eden will operate as a zero waste for disposal facility. Across its manufacturing network, Purina is working to conserve water and achieve 100% renewable electricity at its factories by 2025.