Kent Pet Group launches $80M expansion in Muscatine 

MUSCATINE, Iowa – The cat litter business is strong and growing – so strong that Kent Pet Group is building a new $80 million manufacturing facility here to make a lot more cat litter. “We’re actually making history today,” Gage Kent, chairman and CEO of the Kent Corp., said during a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday, April […]

MUSCATINE, Iowa – The cat litter business is strong and growing – so strong that Kent Pet Group is building a new $80 million manufacturing facility here to make a lot more cat litter. “We’re actually making history today,” Gage Kent, chairman and CEO of the Kent Corp., said during a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday, April 27. “Somebody will read about this in 100 years, and hopefully they are still using cat litter.” That groundbreaking event, held outside Kent’s Muscatine facility at 5101 Sevig St., attracted more than 100 people. Most of those in attendance were from the business community who gathered with Kent employees, who wore blue T-shirts with the words “We’re Expanding” next to artwork of a stretching black cat.

Also on hand for the groundbreaking event were city officials from Muscatine, and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. “I have a lot of admiration for people who don’t just talk about things, but do things,” Mr. Naig said, praising Kent officials for moving forward on the expansion. He also applauded the Muscatine-based company for using corn to make its natural cat litter.

Some of the new facility’s details include:

• The new 113,000-square-foot manufacturing facility will be built on 70 acres adjacent to the current Kent Distribution Center.
• The plant will enable Kent to triple the amount of cat litter it currently produces. The new facility is needed because Kent can’t keep up with the current demand for its cat litter, Steve Gordon, president of the Kent Pet Group, said at the ceremony. (The company brands its product as the “world’s best cat litter.”)
• Kent expects to hire 30 additional employees with the expansion. Wages for the new jobs will be at least $22.08 an hour.
• The new facility will be highly automated and have state-of-the art equipment.
• State officials recently announced a $150,000 forgivable loan and tax benefits for the project. 
• Construction is expected to begin later this year and be complete in the summer of 2025.

The groundbreaking ceremony represents a monumental chapter in the company’s history as Kent Pet Group’s flagship World’s Best Cat Litter brand celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Since its inception, the Kent Corp. subsidiary has sold nearly 1.5 billion pounds of litter and is expected to reach its goal of donating over 3 million pounds of litter to cat shelters before the end of year. Thursday’s ceremony to launch construction of the new facility had its own unique twist on a groundbreaking. Instead of using shovels and a pile of dirt for the ceremony, Kent officials used a large container of cat litter. (One visitor at the event called it the “world’s biggest cat litter box.”)  Kent officials also replaced shovels with cranberry harvesting shovel-like tools – called a Seymour Midwest Toolite – that have a series of holes in the shovel head. The tools were used because they somewhat resemble a cat litter box scoop.

Much of the event centered around thanking and praising the many people from Muscatine, state government and Kent for helping make the expansion possible. Mr. Naig called the day “an exciting day in the state of Iowa.” Mr. Kent said the project was the culmination of years of planning and teamwork. “If you surround yourself with good people, great things will happen,” he added. The expansion project also is coming in the midst of a light-hearted controversy sparked by former basketball star Charles Barkley. Mr. Gordon told the crowd that Mr. Barkley appeared on the “Inside the NBA” TV program on Sunday night, April 23, and told the world that cats aren’t real pets. Instead, Mr. Barkley added, they are “just something old women have.” The comments, of course, have sparked many critical comments from cat lovers across the world. Mr. Gordon jokingly suggested to Thursday’s crowd that they start a social media campaign to strike back at Mr. Barkley’s comments. On a more serious note, he said the products made by Kent Pet Group will better serve cats and their owners. “This is going to help people have a better relationship with their cats because cats are real pets,” he added.