Representative image The pet food maker is adding 220,000 sq ft and two new production lines to its Fort Smith, AR manufacturing plant.
Pet food and products firm Mars Petcare is planning to invest $145 million to increase the production capabilities of its wet pet food manufacturing plant in Fort Smith, AR by adding 200,000 sq ft of space to the facility and installing two new production lines, the Arkansas Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) announced in a recent release.
“The investment in our Fort Smith manufacturing facility enables us to continue to serve the ever-growing needs of pets and pet parents and represents our commitment to our associates and this community,” Ikdeep Singh, regional president of Mars Petcare North America, said in a statement.
Image by joy617 from Pixabay
The wet pet food category is growing thanks to pet owners trying new types and varieties of food for their dogs and cats, according to officials from Mars Petcare. To meet these needs, the company has plans to invest $145 million to expand its manufacturing facility in Fort Smith, Ark.
âAt Mars Petcare, everything we do is in service of our purpose: A Better World for Pets,â said Ikdeep Singh, regional president of Mars Petcare North America, which is based in Franklin, Tenn. âThe investment in our Fort Smith manufacturing facility enables us to continue to serve the ever-growing needs of pets and pet parents and represents our commitment to our associates and this community.â
Move by Franklin-based pet food maker will create 120 jobs
Franklin-based pet food maker Mars Petcare has announced it will invest $145 million to expand its manufacturing facility located in Fort Smith, Arkansas, a move that will yield 120 full-time jobs.
The expansion will bolster a series of investments that Mars Petcare has undertaken at its Fort Smith facility, totaling more than $420 million to date.
The facility expansion will begin this month and is scheduled for completion in 2022. Specifically, Mars Petcare will add more than 200,000 square-feet and two additional production lines, increasing production capacity by more than 40 percent, with room for growth in the future.
The Fort Smith manufacturing plant will undergo a $145 million dollar expansion that will add at least 120 jobs in the Arkansas River Valley area.
Credit Talk Business & Politics
Gov. Asa Hutchinson and officials with Mars Petcare were in Fort Smith on Friday to announce a $145 million expansion of the company’s plant at Chaffee Crossing that will create more than 120 jobs.
Officials with Mars Petcare – based in Brussels, Belgium, with a U.S. headquarters south of Nashville, Tenn. – announced in November 2007 they would build the Fort Smith pet food production and packaging plant, and the $80 million facility opened in September 2009. The average annual salary at the plant was then estimated at $35,300.