On December 18th, the city of Dubuque announced that Simmons Pet Food Inc. will convert and expand an existing plant to process and can pet food.  Simmons will invest $80 million over a three-year period on the existing 250,000 square foot plant  that is currently inactive. It is intended to extend the facility by 90,000 square feet with a new receiving area, freezer and warehouse.

David Jackson, COO of Simmons Foods stated “Equipment installation will begin in early 2021 with completion of the first phase scheduled by July 1st.”

Kansas Pet Food Plant erected
by Simmons 2019

Simmons is expected to receive Iowa Economic Development Authority incentives including tax credits, job training funds and other concessions. Obviously Simmons is taking advantage of the availability of meat byproducts and possibly spent hens in Iowa for their production requirements.