Jan. 7—Officials with Nestle Purina PetCare visited one of two former Red Collar pet food plants in the area last week after a recent acquisition.
“They called it their signing day,” Melinda Stotts, communications manager for the city of Miami, said.
It was the day the company put up their signs and their brands, to “mark bringing the Miami facility into their fold,” she explained.
The company also made a $10,000 donation to the Ketcher/Keheley Animal Shelter in Miami.
Among those who came were Nina Leigh Krueger, CEO; Andrea Faccio, president and chief growth officer; Nolan Terry, chief technical officer; and Pat Masching, vice president of manufacturing.
“One of the things I love most about our company is the work we do to bring and keep pets and people together. It’s foundational to who we are, and it guides how we engage the communities we call home,” Krueger said in a statement issued by the company.
Miami Mayor Bless Parker also attended.
Nestlé Purina PetCare acquired Miami’s Red Collar Pet Foods plant, which makes pet treats, from Arbor Investments last year.
When the deal closed, it became the 22nd Purina-owned nationwide and expanded their capability for dog and cat treats.
Purina had worked with the Red Collar plant since 2022 to co-manufacture soft chew pet treats under the Purina treats portfolio and Zuke’s brands.
“They told me they had contracted with that facility before (the purchase) and they were impressed with that,” Stotts said. “They were impressed with the people there.”
The company also said it it is the middle of a five-year investment plan that involves putting more than $2 billion into factory expansions, new construction and acquisitions that will create 850 new jobs companywide.
The plant in Miami employs 85 people and the company hopes to take it to 125, Stotts said.
Sunshine Mills, a family-owned and -operated pet food and treat producer in Alabama, announced last fall that it had acquired the Red Collar Pet Foods plant in Joplin.
That plant was formerly Hampshire Pet Products, 7700 Alliance Parkway, in the Joplin Crossroads Center Business and Distribution Park.
Hampshire was built in Joplin in 2001 and sold to Red Collar in 2019.
Red Collar is under the umbrella of Arbor Investments, based in Florida.
Red Collar had nearly 130 employees working in the Joplin plant at the time, and covers 200,000 square feet of production and warehouse space on 18 acres.
Sunshine Mills has been in business 75 years and owns and operates multiple manufacturing sites in the United States and sells to more than 30 countries worldwide. Consumer brands include Evolve, Triumph, Sportsman’s Pride, Hunter’s Special, Nurture Farms, Pet Life, Pup Corn and Meaty Treats.
Arbor Investments was founded in 1999 as a specialized private equity firm focused exclusively on acquiring companies in food, beverage and related industries.
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