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This case history about Simmons Pet Foods comes courtesy ofCisco-Eagle. It has been selected and edited by the MHM editorialstaff for clarity, content and style.
Customer
Simmons Pet Foods, Siloam Springs, Arkansas
Simmons Pet Foods is one of the largest private-label, canned petfood manufacturers in the United States. Besides the private labelbrands it manufactures for many large retailers, Simmons alsoproduces its own line of national brands such as Twin Pet,Strongheart, Kitty and Fit & Active. The company also ownsSimmons Metal Container, which manufactures cans for its own use aswell as for outside companies. This unique combination of both foodand container manufacturing enables Simmons to offer a flexiblevariety of foods, sizes and package options to its retailcustomers.
Family-owned Simmons employs 4,100 in the U.S.
The Situation:
Due to its quality reputation, Simmons has faced increasing demand.After extensive planning, it broke ground on an ambitious expansionproject in 2005. It is a significant undertaking that has helped toevolve Simmons' manufacturing capabilities to world-class stature.That process continues, and probably won't ever cease as long asthe company can wring more productivity out of its operations. ASimmons project engineer said that the company wants to increasecapacity by two-thirds or more.
In the wake of recent pet food recalls and quality issues, petowners demanded better, safer, healthier foods, and retailersresponded by increasing orders with quality providers like Simmons.According to the company, the market for pet foods had beensteadily moving toward what it terms 'premium products', and therecall issues only accelerated that movement. Pet owners werealready taking better care of their animals, and this put Simmonsin an excellent position to capitalize.
Simmons' products were never recalled; in...