Through an important public/private partnership, Cargill broke ground on a new animal feed production facility in the City of Owosso, Mich.

The company recently acquired a nearly 20-acre site from the city, located at 1509 W Oliver St, which will house a new 75,000 square foot, $19 million plant focused on providing custom animal feed products to the dairy industry. The company expects to be operational by December 2017, with plans to employ eight people at the start.

"The City of Owosso and the Shiawassee Economic Development Partnership have been wonderful partners on this important investment project for us," said Tom Taylor, a commercial director for Cargill's animal feed business in the U.S. "Additionally, this centrally-located facility will enable to us to better serve the growing dairy population within Michigan, which is one of the top 10 dairy producing markets in the U.S."

Cargill's animal nutrition business currently has 43 manufacturing facilities across the U.S. The plant will be the first Cargill animal feed manufacturing facility in Michigan.

Several business, government and economic development partners were integral in helping move the project forward, including the City of Owosso, Sonoco, Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Great Lakes Central Railroad, Consumers Energy, CB Richard Ellis, Covenant Eyes, the Shiawassee Economic Development Partnership, MDOT, Rowe, VAA, Fessler-Bowman and Pumford Construction.

"On behalf of the local partners involved in this project, we are tremendously honored that Cargill has chosen Owosso as a home for one of its world-class facilities. This dynamic company provides many valuable goods and services to customers all over the world, and it is so exciting to know that they will now producing some of these products right here in Shiawassee County. We also think this a great fit for our community, given our agricultural and manufacturing heritage, central location in the state, and access to important transportation assets like the Great Lakes Central Railroad and Interstate 69. We wish Cargill the very best in this endeavor, and look forward to helping them succeed in our community for many years to come," said Justin Horvath, Shiawassee Economic Development Partnership President/CEO.

Source: Cargill