100 jobs will be created.
SECAUCUS, NJ — Freshpet Inc. announced plans to expand its manufacturing capacity at its campus in Hanover Township, Northampton County, PA.
The expansion includes the renovation of a 50,000-square-foot building and a 90,000-square-foot addition. The $100 million capital investment is expected to support Freshpet’s growth in the U.S., Canada and Europe by creating total capacity for about $540 million in net sales from the facility, according to a press release.
The expansion will result in the addition of at least 100 new manufacturing and support jobs over the next three years and up to a total of 200 new jobs once running at full capacity, the company stated in the release. Today about 221 employees work at the Freshpet campus.
The “Freshpet Kitchens 2.0” facility “will make greater use of automation to improve quality, safety and reduce costs.” Production start-up is slated for the second half of 2020.
Freshpet’s CEO Billy Cyr said, “Freshpet is changing the way people feed their pets. The rapid growth of the Freshpet brand behind our Feed the Growth strategy requires us to bring online additional capacity by mid-to-late 2020 to support our continued growth and enable us to serve more pets. It also allows us to provide more career opportunities for the dedicated and talented employees who have helped deliver the success we have had so far. We are very excited to have the opportunity to further advance our manufacturing expertise and expand our Freshpet Kitchens campus in Pennsylvania with the support of our local and state governments.”