Later this year, Northern Pelagic Group (NORPEL) will open its new processing facility for pet proteins, it confirmed on 9 March.
The facility, to be based in northeastern Pennsylvania, will serve as a pet food “prep kitchen” and produce “fresh and frozen proteins for pet food manufacturers and enable NORPEL to sustain growth and capitalize on new opportunities in the pet food sector,” the company said. The 70,000-square-foot plant will create an estimated 80 full-time new jobs.
NORPEL acquired the facility in January 2021 and began renovating it soon after. The firm has been converting the plant into a temperature-controlled, food-grade processing facility, and will be constructing a 25,000-square-foot cold storage facility on-site. Its new location will bring the company closer to raw materials in the region, its customer base, and the Port of Philadelphia.
“The new location will feature three processing lines that will expand the company’s capacity on existing products and enable new opportunities with customers,” NORPEL said.
The pet food industry has been going through a rapid expansion as demand has soared for premium-grade products. In the U.S., pet food segments are expected to continue to grow at 4.5 percent through 2025, according Grandview Research.
“NORPEL has positioned itself as a provider of premium and sustainable proteins for pet food manufacturers. As the pet food brands have grown, so has NORPEL as the company works with many household brand names in the pet space,” the company said.
NORPEL Vice President of Business Development Michael Tierney said consumers shopping for their pets often look for the same types of food they eat themselves.
“Pets need proteins and consumers want proteins that make them feel OK about what their pet eats both for their health and the planet,” Tierney said. “We have partnered with a wide range of suppliers and have created products that will help pet food manufacturers continue to produce food that will keep pets and their owners coming back for more.”
NORPEL CEO and Co-Founder Brady Schofield said growing concerns regarding sustainability have guided recent development of the pet food sector.
“Sustainability is one of the primary reasons we love being in the pet space,” Schofield said. “We work with farms, food processors, and businesses large and small to ensure that nothing goes to waste and that full utilization of the fish or animal is achieved. Given NORPEL's growth and relationship with many pet food producers and our need for further capacity, 2021 was the right time for NORPEL to expand outside Massachusetts and set up a new food facility for the pet industry. Processing pet food is capital intensive but given all of the learning curves we have been through, the relationships we have developed, and products we have helped launch, it was a necessary step for the business.”
Established in 2002, NORPEL is a vertically integrated seafood company, that has transitioned into a multi-protein food manufacturing business headquartered in New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.A.. It operates two midwater trawl vessels, two processing facilities, and three cold storage facilities in New Bedford. The new processing facility in Pennsylvania will be its first operation outside New England.
