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Kent Nutrition Group
Company typePrivate
IndustryAgriculture, Livestock and Pet nutrition
Founded2010
Headquarters
Muscatine, Iowa
,
US
Area served
United States
Key people
Gage Anthony Kent (owner)
Mike Gauss (president)
Products
OwnerGage Anthony Kent, via Kent Corporation
Number of employees
2,000[1]
ParentKent Corporation
Divisions
  • Kent
  • Blue Seal
Websitekentnutritiongroup.com

The Kent Nutrition Group is an animal nutrition company based in Muscatine, Iowa. It operates under the brands Kent and Blue Seal and is a subsidiary of the Kent Corporation.

History

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Kent Nutrition Group was founded in 2010 in a corporate consolidation of two separate regional nutrition companies — Kent (established in 1927) and Blue Seal (established in 1868) — under the Kent Corporation.[2][3] The original president, Rich Dwyer, led the feed division for its first year of operations[2][4] and in 2011, John Thorpe become the president of Kent Nutrition Group.[5]

In 2016, the company acquired Deluxe Feeds, another Iowa-based feed company. The assets in the deal included Deluxe Feeds' retail stores, feed mills, and its Midwest EnRG Flakes operations.[6] In June 2017, the company announced a $37-million expansion of the Deluxe Feeds plant in Sheldon, Iowa.[7] It broke ground on the expansion in September 2017.[8] The following month, the Kent Nutrition Group opened a new swine research facility at their 800-acre Product Development Center in Muscatine County.[9]

In 2019, Mike Gauss was appointed as President, replacing John Thorpe who became President and COO of Kent’s parent company, Kent Corporation.[10]

Brands

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Kent

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Kent Feeds was founded by Gage A. Kent in Indianola, Iowa in 1927, where he used a mill to manufacture cattle feed. The company's first product, "Kent Baby Beef," was marketed as a cattle feed with high protein and no filler. A fire destroyed the original mill in Indianola and eventually Kent moved the company to a new plant in Muscatine, Iowa. In 1952, the company built a new plant in Muscatine. Between 1946 and 1964, Kent grew by 700%.[11][12]

In 1988, Varied Investments (which would later become Muscatine Foods and, eventually, Kent Corporation) acquired H.K. Webster Company of Lawrence, Massachusetts, renaming it Blue Seal Feeds.[13] At that time, both Kent Feeds and Blue Seal Feeds were operating as subsidiaries of Varied Investments.[14] In 2001, Kent Feeds president Jack May resigned and was replaced by Gage A. Kent, the grandson of the company's founder.[15] Kent sells commercial animal and show feeds primarily in the Midwest and nearby regions.[16][17][18][19]

Blue Seal

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Blue Seal Feeds was founded as the H. K. Webster Company in 1868 in Lawrence, Massachusetts by Henry K. Webster. Webster had rented a small gristmill to produce animal feed[14][20] and grain products. His son Dean K. Webster began selling products under the "Blue Seal" brand name.[21] In 1941, H.K. Webster Company expanded by acquiring a Quaker Oats plant in Richford, Vermont.[22] By 1954, the company was earning $15 million in annual revenue and Ralph Kingman Webster, H.K. Webster's great-grandson, joined the company.[14][20]

By 1988, the firm had grown to eight plants and seventeen retail stores in New England producing $150 million in annual revenue.[20] That year, Varied Investments (which would later become Muscatine Foods and, eventually, the Kent Corporation) acquired the H.K. Webster Company[3][11][23] and officially renamed it "Blue Seal Feeds."[24] Blue Seal moved its headquarters to a new facility in Londonderry, New Hampshire in 1994.[25] In 2008, the company acquired the I.L. Richer Company, another feed company based in New York.[26]

Blue Seal produces a number of branded items, including pet foods and animal feed as well as a line of lawn and garden products. Blue Seal products are primarily sold in the Northeast and along the Eastern Seaboard. Blue Seal also operates several retail stores in New England.[25][18][27]

References

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  1. ^ "Kent Corporation – Companies".
  2. ^ a b "Muscatine Foods Merges Subsidiaries To Create Kent Nutrition Group". Pet Product News. July 29, 2010. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Muscatine Foods changes name to Kent Corp". Quad-City Times. March 27, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  4. ^ "Muscatine Foods forms Kent Nutrition Group". WATTAgNet. September 14, 2010. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  5. ^ "Gold Star Feed And Grain 'Unhooked' From Kent Nutrition". American Agriculturist. March 23, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  6. ^ Demaree, Holly (September 28, 2016). "Kent Nutrition Group to acquire Deluxe Feeds". World Grain. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  7. ^ Rushing, Ty (June 22, 2017). "Kent Feeds division planning $37M expansion in Sheldon". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  8. ^ Lawrence, Tom (September 16, 2017). "Deluxe Feeds breaks ground on $37M expansion". The N'West Iowa REVIEW. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  9. ^ "Kent Nutrition Group launches new swine facility". National Hog Farmer. October 10, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  10. ^ "Kent Nutrition Makes Staffing Changes". Pet Business. 4 January 2019.
  11. ^ a b "Muscatine grain company buys New England firm". The Des Moines Register. January 11, 1989. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  12. ^ Morrison, Patricia (July 25, 1997). "Firm has grown greatly in 70 years". The Vincennes Sun-Commercial. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  13. ^ Ehrlich, Jennifer (September 30, 2004). "Blue Seal Feeds beefs up for changing times". Boston Globe.
  14. ^ a b c Muhm, Don (February 3, 1991). "Kent Feeds shows it's a survivor". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  15. ^ "President resigns for health reasons". Quad-City Times. October 18, 2001. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  16. ^ Danley-Greiner, Kristin (March 4, 2015). "Kent approaching 50 years in Altoona". The Altoona Herald. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  17. ^ Samuelson, Orion; Armstrong, Max (June 23, 2018). "This Week in Agribusiness - June 23, 2018". Farm Futures. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  18. ^ a b "Kent team recognized for achievement". Feedstuffs. May 26, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  19. ^ "Kent Nutrition Group appoints swine feed product manager". WATTAgNet. April 27, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  20. ^ a b c Eddings, Keith (December 18, 2015). "A millionaire who made a difference". The Andover Townsman. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  21. ^ Arrington, Benj. F. (1922). Municipal History of Essex County in Massachusetts. Vol. 3. Lewis Historical Publishing Company.
  22. ^ "Feed Management". Garden State Publishing Company. 1982.
  23. ^ Martz, Pam (August 14, 2005). "Area company gets new name". Quad-City Times. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  24. ^ "Muscatine investment firm buys, renames feed manufacturer". Quad-City Times. January 11, 1989. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  25. ^ a b Weeks, Jacklynn (November 23, 2009). "Blue Seal Feeds Corporate Headquarters". Town of Londonderry. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  26. ^ "Two 19th century feed companies to merge". The Burlington Free Press. January 17, 2008. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  27. ^ "Blue Seal Feeds Inc". Pet Product News. March 5, 2007. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
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