Paducah Economic Development has announced that Darling Ingredients Inc., headquartered in Irving, Texas, will begin operations in Paducah, KY in late fall 2015 and will initially hire approximately 20 to 25 people at the Paducah facility. The company has purchased the previous U.S. Foods building located at 1350 North 10th Street in the city of Paducah and will be a part of the Paducah Power network. The company will use the property for the production of wet pet food ingredients.
Employment screenings for the new company will be managed in cooperation with the Kentucky Career Center located at 416 South Sixth Street. The phone number is 270-575-7000.
“We are so happy to welcome Darling Ingredients to Paducah,” said Scott Darnell, President of Paducah Economic Development. “This is a contemporary, innovative, international corporate concern with a visionary industrial outlook. Darling Ingredients is just the kind of company that any community would be excited to have in its economic mix. The company is the world’s largest publicly-traded developer and producer of sustainable natural ingredients from edible and inedible bio-nutrients. They create a wide range of ingredients and specialty products for customers in the pharmaceutical, food, pet food, feed, fuel, and fertilizer industries. We couldn’t be more pleased to have found such an exceptional company to join our community.”
Darling Ingredients operates more than 200 locations on five continents and reports annual sales of approximately $4 billion. The company employs more than 10,000 people worldwide. Darling collects and transforms all aspects of animal by-product streams into broadly used and specialty ingredients, such as gelatin, edible fats, freed-grade fats, animal proteins and meals, plasma, pet food ingredients, organic fertilizers, yellow grease, fuel feedstocks, green energy, natural casings and hides. The company also recovers and converts used cooking oil and commercial bakery residuals into valuable feed and fuel ingredients. In addition, the company provides grease trap services to food service establishments, environmental services to food processors and sells restaurant cooking oil delivery and collection equipment.
“Darling is looking forward to becoming a part of the Paducah community,” said John Bullock, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer. “We want to express our gratitude for the hard work of the city and county, Paducah Power, and Paducah Economic Development. From permitting to assistance with local services, our experience in the community has been terrific.”
The company has other facilities in both Kentucky and Tennessee including a rendering operation in Union City, TN. “Darling Ingredients has a similar facility in Nebraska to the one it is opening here. And with several other facilities in the Midwest, we are encouraged that Darling Ingredients is committed to what we have to offer in our region and that we can look to future growth in our market, ” added Darnell. “We feel so very fortunate to have attracted such an outstanding company to Paducah. The company has been in business for more than 130 years and is on the leading edge of research and development in the area of sustainable food, feed, and fuel ingredients.”
“This is just the type of strong, sound, conscientious corporation that we need in our community,” said Mayor Gayle Kaler. “The company has a balanced portfolio and is highly respected in the organic bio-nutrient industry. This is a quality company that will provide quality employment to the people of our area.”
“The great thing about acquiring a company like Darling Ingredients is that success breeds success,” added Judge Bob Leeper. “When a community is able to locate a high-tech company like Darling Ingredients, we can all be hopeful that similar companies in like-industries might also consider our area for the location of a facility like this one. It’s like basketball recruiting. Once you get an all-star, it paves the way for others to join the team.”
A video profile of Darling Ingredients can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/122668728. The seven-minute video provides a concise overview of this international company and its associated brands. Additional information is also available at the company web site: www.darlingii.com.