Pet food giant Mars Petcare has recently made a $112.6 million investment to expand the manufacturing capabilities of its Wodonga factory.
It will primarily serve the Australian and New Zealand markets and the growth of existing and new product ranges across the company’s Whiskas, Advance, Optimum, and Dine brands.
The new 7800 sqm facility will be dedicated to producing single-serve pouches, including two additional lines with a combined annual capacity of 25 kilotonnes – approximately 290 million bags of cat food.
Craig Sargeant, GM at Mars Petcare Australia, said the company is committed to bolstering local operations by sourcing most of its product portfolio from within Australia.
“This significant investment will allow us to respond to pet trends, including the continued rise in cat ownership – growing at nearly 4 per cent per year – more than twice as fast as our dog population,” said Sargeant.
“We’re also seeing increased demand for convenience, with pouch products representing half of the Australian wet cat food market and growing at nearly 10 per cent per year.”
Mars Petcare said this would build on to the $55.8 million investment made in the past five years, allowing it to “future-proof” its local operations by creating more than 60 new jobs through the onshoring of pet food production.
As a result of the project’s contribution to the local economy, the company has also been given grant funding from the Victorian government.
“As pet ownership continues to increase, there are enormous opportunities for businesses like Mars to expand,” said Harriet Shing, Victorian minister of regional development.
“We’re continuing to work with rural and regional producers to support investment in growth industries, to cement Mars Petcare’s long-term operations and workforce in Wodonga and its place in a strong market.”
Mars Petcare has been manufacturing at the Wodonga site since 1967.
