Verona plant attracts $14M capital investment

Southwest Missouri is becoming known for its specialized protein products, and a major investment in Verona could solidify that reputation among businesses in the animal-based food-products industry.

Des Moines, Iowa-based Kemin Industries Inc. is gearing up for a $14 million capital investment 40 miles southwest of Springfield to expand its Verona production plant. The 40,000-square-foot plant processes meat protein used in ingredient systems – known as palatants – to improve the taste of pet foods.

Kemin Industries Director of Operations Jeff Glasgow said officials haven’t yet determined the scale of the Verona project, one of its 15 manufacturing facilities.

The company – which comprises seven divisions with 2,000 worldwide employees and reports annual sales of around $565 million – purchased the Verona plant in 2011 from Springfield-based American Dehydrated Foods Inc. for an undisclosed amount.

“When we bought this particular facility it was pretty much at production capacity. Then, once we started adding our Palasurance products – which is Kemin’s brand palatants – to that facility, we knew we were running out of room,” Glasgow said.

He said the area between Springfield and Joplin is becoming known as a corridor for businesses that serve the pet foods industry. Nearly a dozen related companies call the area home.

“The whole southwest Missouri area is developing as a region for pet-food manufacturers,” Glasgow said. “Nobody has told me anything directly, but in talking with customers and some other people in the industry, it seems to be the kind of industry that some of the towns around us are trying to attract.

“There are some strategic advantages to having suppliers and customers all in the same region.”

Glasgow declined to name any company clients without authorization from clients, which was not available by press time.

Along with the multimillion-dollar budget for additional production and warehouse space in Verona, Kemin also is planning to add 24 jobs.

The capital investment has drawn city and state incentives. Verona is part of an Enhanced Enterprise Zone, and the Missouri Department of Economic Development has offered Kemin an incentives package worth roughly $300,000, provided it meets its job creation and investment goals.

Kurt Hellweg, CEO of American Dehydrated Foods Inc. and International Dehydrated Foods Inc., said he’s pleased to hear Kemin is investing in Verona. Through a new joint venture with Iowa-based Rembrandt Enterprises Inc. launched Jan. 1, called IsoNova Technologies LLC, ADF operates an egg-drying facility in the Verona area. ADF uses proteins from eggs in premium pet foods, while an IDF plant in Monett produces poultry-based foods, such as soups, sauces and bouillon, predominately for human consumption. Bill Darr, who Springfield Business Journal recognized in 2011 with a Lifetime Achievement in Business Award, founded the companies in 1978.

“We continue to be invested in the community,” Hellweg said in an email. “Kemin’s proposed $14 million investment and resulting additional jobs will only add to the city of Verona’s tax base and services it can offer to its residents.”

He said while Kemin, IsoNova and ADF all play in the same pet-food marketplace, they don’t see each other as competitors.

“We each offer specific solutions,” he said, noting ADF and IsoNova are more focused on nutrition, while Kemin emphasizes palatability.

Another pet-food ingredient company in the area is Monett-based 3D Corporate Solutions. Across the state line, Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) and Siloam Springs, Ark.-based Simmons Foods Inc. each produces poultry products that also serve the pet-food industry.

Greg Drollinger, vice president of sales and marketing for 3D Corporate Solutions, said while Kemin manufactures a couple of ingredients in Verona that compete with 3D products, the companies also do business together.

“Kemin is a large antioxidant producer to the pet food industry. It makes natural and synthetic antioxidants that folks like ourselves use, so it is a vendor of ours, as well,” Drollinger said.

At IsoNova, the company announced March 26 that Andrew Herr was named president after joining the new venture as chief strategy officer. Previously, he worked for eight years at Iowa-based Rembrandt Enterprises in a variety of positions, including director of business development and general manager of the pet-care division. Herr also was a member of the executive leadership group at REI.[[In-content Ad]]