This Fresno, California-based pet treat manufacturer has achieved double-digit growth annually since 2006 and produces nearly 50 SKUs for the pet specialty market.
Plato Pet Treats is headquartered in Fresno, California. It runs two production lines, one for small bites and strips and another for meat sticks, in its 60,000-sq.-ft. facility.
From left: Aaron Merrell, Albeena Rivera, Colter Miller, Hanna Bemer, Ray Owen and Ricardo Salazar
Thinkers meat sticks are Plato's top-selling dog treats.
Rafael Mendoza keeps a sharp eye on the Handtmann ConPro system used to produce the company's Thinkers meat sticks.
When Chief Executive Officer Aaron Merrell realized Plato needed to improve the efficiency of its meat sticks production line, he turned to Lake Forest, Illinois-based supplier Handtmann for a solution. Now, the company produces the product on a standard Handtmann ConPro system using Plato's existing Handtmann VF 616 to fill product and a new Handtmann VF 608 for the alginate casing system.
In alginate casing systems, the product is co-extruded through a cascade of calcium chloride into a hygienic-plastic flume with a flowing bath of the calcium chloride solution and is set for handling by the time the product reaches the end of the short flume. Alginate casings let the processor run continuously without interruption and the alginate gel can be adjusted as needed for flavor, color, bite and texture.
The company recently started selling Thinkers meat sticks individually packaged and sold more last year in dollar value of the single-serve configuration than it sold in any other configuration.
Plato currently produces nearly 50 SKUs for the pet specialty market. Plato's original processing line produces small bites and strips of dehydrated salmon, chicken and duck. Plato's strips line includes options with added vegetables, plus turkey strips with pumpkin, sweet potatoes or cranberries.
Plato's goal for each product is to offer a healthy treat made with an easy-to-understand, short list of ingredients that dogs go crazy for. In addition to the small bites, strips and sticks made in its Fresno, California facility, Plato has added three product lines from outside processors.
A single-ingredient, dehydrated, fish-skin treat made of Icelandic cod is produced in Iceland and packaged by Plato. A wild Alaskan salmon oil is produced in Alaska, and the company's new small-batch, lamb, beef and pork, bone broth is produced in Fresno at a human-grade bottling facility.
From the custom-built control system to Plato's dehydrators to new product launches, Merrell works to support and foster an entrepreneurial spirit within the company.
"We have to be the ones to innovate," Merrell says. By finding custom solutions and streamlining processes, Merrell says Plato now has the capacity to meet its growth targets. He estimates the company is currently running at 50% of its capacity and expects that within two years he will be in the market to expand capacity and plant size for the third time in 10 years.
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