DSM, a global company with headquarters in The Netherlands and several locations across the United States, announced plans Monday that it plans to build a next-generation nutritional premix plant in Tonganoxie.

The Tonganoxie facility is expected to create 28 jobs.

The new location will supply the pet food industry with nutritional premixes for use in branded pet food products worldwide. The facility is expected to break ground in July and be fully operational by early 2025, pending final approvals from the Tonganoxie City Council.

Tonganoxie City Manager George Brajkovic said DSM’s product is a nutritional pre-mix that is then added to other foods.

He said the 70,000 square-foot facility will sit on nearly 13 acres near 222nd Street and Kansas Avenue.

“We think it’s a good fit for the site,” Brajkovic said. “However, we haven’t done any local approvals.”

Brajkovic added that the project does fit underlying zoning requirements during Monday night’s regular City Council meeting.

“The pet food industry has been looking for a better source for the highest quality, traceable and reliable nutritional ingredients for their products and we are thrilled to be able to deliver for the industry and for ‘pet parents’ with this new facility in Tonganoxie,” said DSM Co-CEO, Dimitri de Vreeze. “We appreciate the support of Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, the Kansas Department of Commerce, the Leavenworth County Development Corporation, the City of Tonganoxie, Evergy and the Animal Health Corridor in making this state-of-the-art facility a reality.”

The Kansas governor praised the latest plans for Tonganoxie in the northeast region of the state.

“DSM is a welcome addition to Kansas and the Animal Health Corridor,” Kelly said.

“Having another industry leader locate here further enhances the globally recognized animal health ecosystem that is anchored in Kansas.”

The facility will be strategically located in the KC Animal Health Corridor, close to many of the industry-leading pet food manufacturers, reducing supply chain risk and logistics expense.

“Leavenworth County Development Corporation would like to thank all the regional, state and local entities that have worked cooperatively on this project,” said Jeremy Greenamy, president of the Leavenworth County Development Corporation. “This is precisely the type of company we hoped would consider our community as a place to invest and locate. We welcome DSM to the Tonganoxie Business Park.”

DSM would join two other tenants in the business park: Unilock and Hill’s Pet Nutrition are current tenants. Unilock, which makes concrete pavers, became the park’s first tenant in 2019. HIll’s officials look for their 300,000 square-foot facility to be open later this summer.

“We’re excited to learn more about DSM becoming a new corporate neighbor in our community,” said Tonganoxie Mayor David Frese. “This is another smart growth opportunity to continue building our future with high-quality jobs and sustainable development.”

The Kansas facility will feature precision micro-batching capability, allowing for precise automated micro-addition of numerous ingredients to premixes in a fully traceable manner. This will support the use of a broader range of DSM and third-party ingredients, allowing the company to create more inclusive and unique premix offerings to meet the evolving needs of the pet food industry.

DSM was established in 1902 by the Dutch government as Dutch State Mines. DSM originally mined coal, but its last coal mine closed in the early 1970s, according to the company’s website.

In recent decades, the company has focused on creating science-based health and nutrition solutions.