Pet Food Maker Picks Kansas City

Score one more for the Animal Health Corridor’s ability to attract key companies: C.J. Foods, a Nebraska-based maker of premium dry pet foods and treats, announced today that it would open an executive office in the Kansas City area.

“After we reviewed data on both KC and Omaha, it was determined that KC has a greater ability to attract the type of talent that we need as we continue our explosive growth in the coming years,” the company’s president and CEO, Tod Morgan, said in a news release issued this morning by the Kansas City Area Development Council. “It offered excellent schools, entertainment, housing and the city’s growth in the downtown area has helped make it a more attractive city in which to relocate.”

The company, which employs more than 400, has a facility in Bern, Kan., as well as its headquarters in Pawnee City, Neb., but needed to expand its presence, officials said, and it will bring a core group of senior executives to this region.