Company’s facility in Neosho, Missouri, won the Premix Manufacturing Category in AFIA’s Feed Facility of the Year Awards
Trouw Nutrition, a global leader in animal nutrition, won the Premix Manufacturing Category in the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA)’s 2019 Feed Facility of the Year Awards. Neosho Plant Manager Doug Vanjoff accepted the award at AFIA’s Feed Production Education Program, a component of the International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) held annually in Atlanta.
“The FFY program aims to highlight excellence in feed facilities, and I am very proud to say that each of these facilities have risen to a high level of quality and excellence,” said Gary Huddleston, AFIA’s director of feed manufacturing and regulatory affairs. “After months of thoroughly reviewing applications and touring facilities to determine these winners, AFIA is thrilled to announce them, and we look forward to naming the overall winner next week at the International Production & Processing Expo. We hope all applicants receive the value the benchmarking program tool provides in helping them on their journey toward continuous improvement.”
Since acquiring the Neosho plant in 2007, Trouw Nutrition has invested more than $7 million in upgrades, including a new stand-alone, one-ton stainless steel mixer and packaging line designed to blend small volumes of custom premixes that are crucial to the ever-increasingly diversified and niche pet food market.
Trouw Nutrition takes great pride in its industry-leading quality control program with every premix receiving an average of 101 checks. The strict quality program, coupled with Trouw Nutrition’s universal worker training in which plant employees spend at least 2.5 months in each of the five production areas, earned Trouw Nutrition six quality certifications, including AFIA’s Safe Feed/Safe Food Certification Program, Safe Quality Food Level 2 Food Sector Category 32 (manufacture of pet food) and Category 34 (manufacture of animal feed), FAMI-QS, hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP), restricted-use protein products (RUPP) free, and Ractopamine Free.
“Combined with our commitment to procuring only the finest ingredients, we are fully committed to protecting our customers’ brands and ensuring pets receive the safest, highest-quality food,” said Vanjoff. “Our team focuses 100% on animal well-being and safety. We pride ourselves on taking the necessary steps to confirm ingredients and finished products meet or exceed our customers’ standards.”
The Neosho plant won the Feed Facility of the Year Overall and Premix Category awards in 2016, and Trouw Nutrition’s Highland, Illinois, plant claimed the Premix Manufacturing Category award in 2018 while Trouw’s Neosho plant finished as a Semi-Finalist in the same category. In addition to attending the award ceremony, the Trouw Nutrition Companion Animal team attended and sponsored IPPE’s Pet Food Conference on January 28.
