Kent Nutrition Group broke ground on Sept. 14 for a new, multi-million-dollar feed manufacturing facility to be built on the campus of Deluxe Feeds in Sheldon, Iowa, U.S. Company and city officials, employees, as well as state and national representatives were on hand for the kick-off celebration. Pictured from left are: State Representative Randy Feenstra; Kevin Cain, president, Sheldon Chamber and Development Corporation (SCDC) Board; Dan Paca, general manager, Deluxe Feeds; John Thorpe, president, KNG; Mike Gauss, vice president of operations, KNG; Skip Tanner, Sheldon Ambassador; and Katricia Meendering, Mayor of Sheldon.
The company said the expansion project demonstrates KNG’s commitment to service for its livestock customers in the four-state area with the addition of five new pellets mills, high-efficiency packaging equipment, grain cleaning and packaging innovations, two separate processing lines, and a 50,000-square-foot warehouse.
“At Kent Nutrition Group, we recognize the importance of animal agriculture to the economy in this area of the country,” said Dan Paca, general manager, Deluxe Feeds. “With the groundbreaking of our new facility, we are sharing our vision for growth and providing our customers with the quality products and service they need to help be successful.”
Projected completion for the feed mill expansion is early winter 2019.
“We have been making continuous improvements in our various facilities in order to deliver the quality products and services that our customers expect from our Kent brand,” said Mike Gauss, KNG’s vice president of operations. “This new state-of-the-art feed mill with its extended capabilities will increase capacity and versatility, so we can continue to produce our quality animal nutrition products, something that is a top-priority at each of our KNG plants.”
Paca added, “As we move forward with this project, we greatly appreciate the support of the local community. We are excited and pleased to break ground on our new facility, which will help us provide the high-quality products that our customers expect.”
The kick-off for the 20-month project was celebrated with KNG senior management and employees as well as City of Sheldon officials and Sheldon Community Development committee members and state representatives.
In October 2016, KNG, a division of Kent Corp., acquired Deluxe Feeds’ feed mills, retail business, and Midwest EnRG Flakes operations. Deluxe, founded in 1972, has feed mills in Sheldon and Ireton, Iowa.
KNG said the acquisition has allowed it to bolster its commercial business and regional focus by joining forces with another respected feed manufacturer in one of the top commercial animal producing regions in the country, the company said.
