Royal Canin opens $73-million pet nutrition manufacturing facility - New plant has latest in product safety and quality control technology

GUELPH, ON, Oct. 7 /CNW Telbec/ - Royal Canin Canada today announced theopening of its new $73-million pet nutrition manufacturing facility, a changethat means all of its high quality products - made to an unmatched nutritionalprecision level - will be produced in Canada. The new state-of-the-artfacility will offer dog and cat owners the best in food safety and quality. "This facility is a first of its kind for the manufacture of therapeuticdog and cat nutrition. Our long-term plan has always been to establish aCanadian facility - a natural progression of growth as our products havebecome market leaders," said Xavier Unkovic, President and Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Royal Canin Canada. "We manufacture a highly specific range of petfood aimed at the care and cure of animals. We know more about pets and thisnew facility represents the best in food safety, nutritional precision andquality." The new facility houses the best technology available for controlled andsecure production to detect and prevent product contamination. Raw materialswill be managed through a Near Infrared Spectroscopy System (NIRS) thatcompares a 'fingerprint' or chemical signature of the ingredient to acomputerized library of standards compiled and maintained for that ingredient.This will ensure any non-conforming raw materials do not get into finishedproducts. Any deviations from the standard result in the rejection of thedelivery and potential disqualification of the supplier. Every raw material is tested before it enters the plant and also everysingle finished product before it leaves the facility. "This $73 million investment in Ontario also demonstrates our commitmentto the Canadian marketplace," said Mr. Unkovic. "And, already, we haveexpansion plans in place." The new facility brings 90 new fulltime jobs. The plant itself willemploy a total of 190 people - including about 40 office workers - and willhave three shifts, five days a week. The facility will manufacture all dryproducts for the Canadian market and also export product to the U.S. market.The facility's extrusion (or cooking capacity) will double later this year. In2009, a food safety and testing centre will open, as well as an educationcentre. In 2010, a warehouse will be completed. Highlights of the facility's manufacturing excellence include: << - Extensively trained laboratory technicians first visually inspect all incoming ingredients - they are empowered to reject any ingredients that look or smell inappropriate to ensure ingredient safety and quality. Employees have undergone 15,000 hours of training and have skilled manufacturing experience. - Prior to uploading any ingredient, a series of up to 30 analytical tests are performed. - All suppliers are approved for each ingredient prior to delivery to the facility. Royal Canin Canada audits the company philosophy, manufacturing location, and origin for each ingredient it sources. - Fully 60% of ingredients are sourced from Canada - ambition is to source an even greater proportion of ingredients from Canada as Royal Canin develops more Canadian suppliers. - Turn over all of ingredients happens at least weekly which ensures fresh ingredients and a superior product. - Manufacturing operations are completely segregated (Ingredient preparation, cooking and packaging) and all work actions are 100% traceable. - Access to the extrusion process is extremely limited - there is no human contact with the raw materials prior to extrusion which reduces the potential for bacterial contamination. - Commitment to environmental sustainability - the best example of this is the Biorem filtration system for odour control. Biorem is a $1.2 million incremental investment that uses organic technology to remove greater than 99% of any odours from the production facility. Biorem is a local supplier situated just a few hundred metres away from the new facility. - Royal Canin has made an environmental commitment to be registered by ISO14001 - a designation of environmental management. >> About Royal Canin Royal Canin is a worldwide manufacturer and supplier of high quality,specialized dog and cat foods in the veterinary, pet specialty, and breederchannels. Its headquarters are in France and production operations exist in10 countries around the world, including the new Canadian plant based inGuelph, Ontario. The company has a comprehensive veterinary exclusive line ofdiets under the Medi-Cal/Royal Canin Veterinary Diet brand name.