Kansas welcomes new $450 million pet food facility

TONGANOXIE – Governor Laura Kelly today joined business leaders from Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Colgate-Palmolive, Leavenworth County, City of Tonganoxie, and other industry and elected officials for the grand opening of a new, fully designed smart facility in Tonganoxie. Hill’s Pet Nutrition, a division of Colgate-Palmolive and a global leader in science-led nutrition, estimates it will invest more than $450 million to construct the new facility and bring more than 100 new jobs to Leavenworth County near Kansas City.

The new facility features advanced digital monitoring of pet food-making processes and end-to-end and AI-driven vigilance over food quality and safety protocols. The plant will deploy autonomous mobile robots, enabling employees to focus on “value-added” tasks rather than shuttling ingredients and related materials around the 365,000-square-foot facility, which sits on more than 80 acres in Tonganoxie.

The new Hill’s plant currently employs 100 people, who were factored into the design of the plant and its production processes.

“Kansas is committed to supporting the creation of high-tech, high-wage jobs such as these for hard-working Kansans and their families,” Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. “The innovation Hill’s is deploying here underscores our state’s growing prowess in advanced manufacturing and the economy of the future.”

Working in close partnership with the Kansas Department of Commerce, the Leavenworth County Development Corporation, the City of Tonganoxie, Evergy, and Kansas Gas Service, Hill’s chose the site for its excellent location; access to a talented and diverse pool of workers; a strong and welcoming community; and proximity to distributors and suppliers.