Scoular’s Pet Food Ingredient Manufacturing Facility, Seward, Nebraska

Scoular's new pet food ingredient manufacturing facility is spread across an area of 106,000ft². Credit: Gray.

The new facility was officially inaugurated on 1 September 2020.

The ground breaking ceremony for the new freeze-dried pet food ingredient manufacturing facility was held in August 2019. Credit: Gray.

Petsource, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of The Scoular Company, has constructed a freeze-dried pet food ingredient manufacturing facility in Seward, Nebraska, the US.

The $50m project was announced in March 2019 while the ground breaking ceremony was held in August 2019. The plant was officially inaugurated in September 2020.

The project employed approximately 150 workers during the construction phase. The new facility will generate 100 new jobs once fully operational. It will produce safe and high-quality food ingredients for pet food customers.

Scoular’s pet food ingredient production plant location

The new manufacturing facility is situated at the Seward / Lincoln Regional Rail Campus in Seward, Nebraska.

Seward was preferred for the facility as it offers a talented labour force. The new plant is one of the first in the US to integrate all phases of the freeze-drying manufacturing process under one roof.

Scoular’s pet food ingredient facility details

The new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility is spread across an area of 106,000ft². It houses a testing laboratory to create new pet food ingredients such as freeze-dried whole organ meats and meat substitutes.

The facility is also equipped with a warehouse, cold storage spaces to stock raw meat, freeze dryers and clean rooms.

The manufacturing facility will produce freeze-dried and packaged high-protein ingredients for its pet food manufacturers. It will meet the rapidly growing demand for freeze-dried protein ingredients and will provide an efficient ingredient supply chain.

The freeze-dried, minimally processed pet food ingredients are tailored to provide high levels of protein with fewer ingredients to ensure a cleaner label, making the product a preferable option for pet food manufacturers.

Key players involved

The facility was developed by Scoular in collaboration with Gray Construction, the City of Seward, Seward County Chamber & Development Partnership and the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.

Scoular’s product portfolio

Scoular trades, stores, manages and transports a range of products for the food and renewable fuels industry.

The primary products offered by the company are oilseeds and grains (nonGMO Organic and Speciality Grains), including soybeans, corn, sorghum (milo) and wheat. Other grains include barley, oats and millets.

Scoular’s pet food ingredient products range includes grain products, animal proteins and oils, vegetable proteins and oils, speciality starches and flours, frozen fish and variety meats.

The livestock feed ingredients range covers beet pulp, cotton-seed, hominy, hulls, citrus, bakery meal, as well as dried and wet distillers grains.

The company also offers ready-to-use products and specialised services, including bagging, containerising, formulation, sorting, storage with identity preservation, and transloading.

Marketing commentary on Scoular

The Scoular Company was founded in 1892 in Superior, Nebraska in the US. It operates more than 100 offices and grain-handling facilities in North America, South America and Asia.

The company provides a range of supply chain solutions for end-users and suppliers of grain, food and feed ingredients across the globe.

Scoular received organic certification for its facilities in Nebraska, Hershey, Kansas and Goodland. The company was named Shipper of the Year by the Port of Virginia at the Virginia Maritime Association’s annual symposium in June 2015. Scoular secured 94th rank on Forbes magazine’s America’s Largest Private Companies listing in 2018.

The company partnered with Jessen Wheat Company for the management of organic grain in 2019, and also collaborated with The Healthy Grain for the distribution of BARLEYmax™ grain in North America, in January 2020.