Lawrence’s Del Monte Foods plant at 727 N. Iowa doesn’t process fruits or vegetables.

And when it was a Heinz plant before Del Monte bought it in December 2002, it didn’t produce ketchup.

And, you guessed it, when the plant was opened by Quaker Oats on March 8, 1978, it wasn’t making oatmeal.

From the beginning, the plant has produced dog food. First, it made a now-defunct brand called Tender Chunks, but in 1981 it began making Kibbles ‘n Bits, which has become one of the best-selling dog foods on the market.

This year the plant’s 130 employees are looking back on 25 years of operating in the Lawrence community, first as a Quaker Oats facility, then from 1995 through last year as a Heinz plant, and now as a part of Del Monte Co.

“Despite all the different names we’ve had, pride has always run very high at this plant,” said Michaela Schropp, the plant’s human resources supervisor. “People out here are very proud of what they do.”

For the dogs

What they do is make a tremendous amount of dog food. The plant pumps out 80,000 pounds of dog food per hour, or about 2 million pounds per day.

The Lawrence facility is the only plant in the world that produces the Kibbles ‘n Bits brand, which has grown over the years to include seven different products that each feature a different flavor.

The process is a high-tech one. The plant is full of dozens of 15,000-gallon tanks that hold liquids like beef fat and chicken slurry, grinders that mill wheat, corn and soybeans, mixers that add vitamins to the grains, and extruders that push nearly 200-degree pieces of mush. The mush is turned into bone-shaped pieces of dog food.

Lyle Hettinger, a packaging worker at Lawrence's Del Monte Foods plant, monitors the bagging of the Kibbles 'n Bits dog food that the plant produces. Plant workers this year are celebrating 25 years of operating in the Lawrence community.

The plant also is full of computers, so much so, that it takes only about 25 production workers per shift (the plant operates three shifts) to crank out enough dog food in a single hour to feed about 15 dogs for their entire lives. The rest of the plant’s employees are office and support staff.

It has been a good business to be in. Even during the down economy of the past two years, the plant has been able to avoid layoffs and keep its work force level at 130 people. It has been that way pretty much throughout the 25-year history of the facility.

“There is a saying that people will feed their animals before they feed themselves,” said Don Rothwell, a warehouse operator who was part of the original crew hired 25 years ago. “I guess it’s true because it has always been pretty steady out here.”

Rob Marshall, plant manager for the Lawrence facility, said that was one of the positives about the $12 billion a year pet food industry.

“We’re pretty well insulated from the ups and downs of the economy,” Marshall said. “We’re not affected much by the oil markets or the stock market, or those type of things.

“We’re just like any food business. People have to eat during good times and bad, and animals do, too.”

Del Monte deal

Plant employees are hoping that Del Monte’s purchase of the plant in late 2002 doesn’t do anything to change that record of steady work.

Several employees, though, said it was probably too early to tell whether the Del Monte deal would be a good one for the Lawrence facility.

“We haven’t really been with Del Monte long enough to know what to think,” said Sharon Musick, a packaging operator who also has been with the plant for 25 years. “With Quaker, we knew the big people and they knew us. That’s what we’re hoping for with Del Monte.”

There is optimism that the deal will be a good one for the plant. That’s because Del Monte was very interested in getting into the pet food business, and Heinz wasn’t so interested in remaining a dog food producer.

That’s what brought the two companies together in 2002. The companies in June announced a $1.7 billion deal that transferred Heinz’s dog food, 9-Lives cat food, Nature’s Goodness baby food and College Inn broth brands to Del Monte.

Heinz listed the brands as some of its slower growing, and said it was shedding them to focus more on its core business of ketchup and sauces.

Del Monte sought the brands as part of a larger strategy to diversify its business beyond fruits and vegetables.

“Any aisle you go down in a grocery store, they want people to see a Del Monte product,” Marshall said.

The strategy has some plant employees excited because they believe it means Del Monte will throw more resources toward expanding the pet food business.

“We are basically such a big part of Del Monte’s business now,” Elois Allan, human resources manager, said. “We were pretty small potatoes in the overall Heinz business. I kind of feel like capital spending and advertising dollars are more likely to be spent on something that is a big part of the business, so that should be good for us.”

According to recently released figures by the company, the pet food business is now the single largest producer of net sales for the company, generating 23 percent of the company’s $3.1 billion in annual sales.

“We’re more of a top dog now instead of a bottom dog,” Musick said.

Good jobs

The plant evidently has been a good deal for a number of area workers. Of the 130 employees at the plant, 23 of them have been employees of the facility for 25 years.

“That speaks pretty well of this place,” said Bill Meyer, a processing operator among the group of 23.

Rothwell said it primarily was the pay and benefits that had kept him at the plant for a quarter century. Several other longtime employees agreed.

“For Lawrence, these are good jobs,” Musick said.

Company officials declined to comment on the average wage paid at the plant, but Allan said the plant has been committed to paying its employees a wage above the average paid by other production companies in the area.

“We do an annual survey to ensure that we’re meeting that goal,” Allan said.

Meyer, who in addition to his job as production operator also serves on a hiring committee for the company, said it was not uncommon to see people stay for a long time at the plant.

“It has provided a lot of opportunities for a lot of people over the years,” Meyer said. “There are a lot of people who started out sweeping floors who are pretty high up now.”