Rural Saskatchewan a perfect fit for pet food manufacturer

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

A pet food manufacturer that set up shop in small-town Saskatchewan is proving that you don’t need to locate your business in a big city to be successful.

Horizon Pet Nutrition officially opened its brand new, state-of-the-art production plant in Rosthern on September 6, 2006. General Manager and owner Jason Skotheim says the company is already starting to build a reputation for the quality of its product.

“We’ve been on the shelf for a few months now, and we’re seeing increases in sales, so it’s all good news,” Skotheim stated.

“Our pet food stacks up with some of the best names in pet food out there. We’re using nothing but the best ingredients that we can find. So it’s a very high quality food, and I think people are starting to realize that. We’re getting very good response back from consumers.”

Horizon is currently focusing on producing pet food for companion animals, such as dogs and cats. The company produces a frozen raw product, and also has an extrusion line for manufacturing a dry kibble product.

Skotheim says that Saskatchewan ingredients figure prominently in Horizon’s popular pet food mixtures. “We took a look at the raw products we had in a very close radius of our plant, and we thought we could make some of the best pet food around just with these top-quality ingredients,” he said.

“Probably 99 per cent of what goes into our food comes from Western Canada, over 80 per cent from right here in Saskatchewan.”

Among the products currently used in Horizon’s pet food are fresh de-boned chicken, chicken meal, hulless barley, hulless oats and rye. In the future, the company may expand its line to include beef ingredients, depending on rulings in the United States, which is being eyed by the company as a key market for growth.

Skotheim had nothing but praise when asked about operating a manufacturing business in rural Saskatchewan. “It’s really been fantastic. We were looking for a community that would embrace us and invite us in to set up our operation. The town saw this as an opportunity to bring in more industry and more jobs, and the whole community has been very supportive,” he said.

“The Rosthern area fits well with us, because a lot of our ingredients are things that are grown very close to here, and there’s some industry. We’re using as much local production as we absolutely can. Our focus is to actually use more production, or even work with some of the growers around here to be producing specifically for us.”

Horizon currently operates with four full-time and two part-time employees, but if the popularity of its product keeps growing, Skotheim believes it is only a matter of time before additional staff will be required to keep pace with demand.

Most of the company’s product is marketed to specialty pet outlets through High Mountain Feed Distributors of Calgary. “Our pet food is now available in over 50 retail outlets from Victoria, B.C., to Selkirk, Manitoba, and we’re in the process of signing up others,” Skotheim noted.

In Saskatchewan, Horizon pet food can be found in stores in Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Tisdale and Rosthern. Skotheim says the company is always eager to expand its customer base here in the province.

“We’d love to hear from Saskatchewan retailers who might be interested in giving our product a try,” he said.

Retailers can learn more about Horizon pet food by calling Jason Skotheim at (306) 232-4240, visiting the company’s website at www.horizonpetfood.com, or contacting High Mountain Feed Distributors in Calgary at 1-800-661-6788.

Pet owners interested in trying the product can also find a listing of Saskatchewan outlets currently carrying Horizon pet food on the company’s website.

For more information, contact:
Jason Skotheim, General Manager and Owner
Horizon Pet Nutrition/Horizon Manufacturing
Phone: (306) 232-4240
E-mail: skotheim@horizonpetfood.com
Website: www.horizonpetfood.com