Champion Petfoods and Gray Construction Canada Company Partner on New NorthStar® Kitchens

Alberta-based Champion Petfoods LP, is building a new state-of-the-Champion is planning to break ground in late June on the new NorthStar® Kitchens, which are scheduled to begin preparing ACANA and ORIJEN foods in the spring of 2019 while creating approximately 200 new jobs.

“We are extremely excited to be bringing the world’s best kitchens back to our home, here in Alberta,” said Frank Burdzy, President and CEO of Champion Petfoods. “We are once again thrilled to welcome Gray as our trusted partner as they truly are experts in delivering custom-fitted state-of-the art kitchens that will advance our Biologically Appropriate™, Fresh Regional Ingredients and Never Outsourced mandate. Additionally, these new kitchens will expand our cooking capacity which will allow us to build more trusted partnerships in the place we have called home for over 30 years.”

Champion is committed to its home of Alberta and will continue to invest in building local partnerships and a strong community.

“Champion Petfoods’ expansion means hundreds of new jobs for Albertans and a more resilient, diversified local economy for Parkland County — that’s why we’re committed to making sure Alberta continues to be the best place in Canada to invest and do business. Together with homegrown industry leaders like Champion, we are building on our strengths and making life better for Alberta families,” said Deron Bilous, Alberta’s minister of economic development and trade.

More than 95 percent of the project workforce will be staffed locally from Alberta. Situated on 75 acres of farmland, the new NorthStar® Kitchens will continue serving Champion’s Canadian and export markets consisting of over 80 countries. Gray Construction Canada Company will help fulfill Champion’s vision of a 400,000 square foot kitchens that will prepare both kibble and freeze-dry foods and treats. This development will also include a full on-site distribution warehouse and logistics center.

“Having partnered with Champion Petfoods for over three years, we are thrilled to be continuing our long-standing relationship with Champion as the company continues to revolutionize food processing,” said Stephen Gray, President and CEO of Gray. “We look forward to supporting Champion in seeing its mission, vision and values become reality through the successful ompletion of the new NorthStar® Kitchens.”

Champion chose Parkland County as the location for the new kitchens because of their business-friendly focus and strong agricultural community. The location fits not only the technical requirements of a state-of-the-art kitchens but will also be a great home for ACANA and ORIJEN.

“The council is tremendously excited to welcome Champion Petfoods to Parkland County and our community,” said Parkland County Mayor Rod Shaigec. “The facility is a significant investment that will create hundreds of jobs in our local area.”

On January 4, 2016, Champion opened its world-class DogStar® Kitchens in Auburn, Kentucky, in which Gray was also the company’s engineering, architecture and construction partner. The new NorthStar® Kitchens will continue to advance the level of innovation and technology that currently gives DogStar® the reputation of making the world’s best and safest pet foods.

Dedicated to pet lovers everywhere, the new NorthStar® Kitchens will bring the world’s best pet food production technologies back to where ACANA and ORIJEN’s story began, our agriculturally vibrant home of Alberta, Canada.

About Champion Petfoods

Champion Petfoods is an independent, award-winning Canadian pet food maker with a tradition of innovation and leadership that spans over more than 30 years. Known and trusted among pet lovers everywhere, Champion’s ACANA and ORIJEN brands of Biologically Appropriate™ foods mirror the evolutionary diets of dogs and cats, feature unmatched inclusions of fresh and local ingredients, and are prepared exclusively in the company’s own award-winning kitchens. Its foods, ACANA and ORIJEN, are found in over 80 countries worldwide.

For more information on Champion Petfoods, visit www.championpetfoods.com. For specific details on the new NorthStar® Kitchens, please email northstarkitchens@championpetfoods.com or call 1-844-922-4267.

About Gray Construction Canada Company

Gray Construction Canada Company is part of Gray Construction, a leading engineering, architecture and construction firm with nearly 60 years of experience in manufacturing and food and beverage facility design and construction. If you have food and beverage plant construction needs, please contact Phil Seale, executive vice president, manufacturing/food & beverage markets at pseale@gray.com. Or, contact Tyler Cundiff, director of business development, Food & Beverage Group at tcundiff@gray.com.

For more information on Gray Construction Canada Company, visit www.gray.com/about-gray/gray-construction-canada-company.