Simmons Foods Inc., a chicken processor based in Siloam Springs, has announced plans to expand its canned pet food operation.
The company is scheduled to have additional production capacity starting next year in “the Arkansas region,” a news release said.
Plans include a new wet pet food operation that is expected to create 100 jobs with a July 2021 start date.
Another, larger wet pet food operation is also in the works and is set for completion late next year. Simmons Foods said it has invested $100 million in recent growth plans, which included an Emporia, Kan., processing plant last year and a high-speed canning line that went online last month.
“We are excited this winning formula allows us to continue to grow and enable our customers’ success,” Simmons Pet Food President Scott Salmon said in a statement. The subsidiary has private-label pet food contracts with Walmart Inc. and others.
To make room for these plans, the company closed a New Jersey pet food plant in August, affecting 176 workers, according to a notice posted by New Jersey’s labor department. Last year, Simmons said it would “optimize its operations” for cost reasons.