DRUMMONDVILLE, Quebec – Two family owned businesses in Canada plan to build a state-of-the-art pet food processing plant called Jupiter. The C$45 million project is the creation of Groupe Inovo, a poultry business and Groupe Legault, which owns the Mondou pet store chain.

Construction on the 121,760 sq.-ft. facility, which will produce dry dog and cat food, started in July and will take approximately 18 months to complete. The plant site is in the Drummondville Industrial Park near the US border. The site was chosen for its strategic location to enable exports to the US. The companies expect to open Jupiter in early 2021.

“Jupiter intends to position itself as a reference in the fields of science and food technology. Indeed, our two family businesses have always distinguished themselves because of our sense of innovation, our dynamism and our desire of diversification,” Jean-Philippe Désilets, director at Groupe Inovo and Jules Legault, co-owner of Groupe Legault, said in a joint statement. “We have decided to put our vision and our strengths together in the Jupiter project to promote compliance with the industry’s highest standards of food quality and safety. As we share the same values, the well-being of our employees, our customers and their animals are always at the heart of our companies’ activities and Jupiter factory is a natural fit in this approach.”

Groupe Inovo owns Nutri-Expert, which produces animal feeds, and Acti-Sol, which specializes in the production of natural fertilizers in addition to other companies. Groupe Legault oversees various companies, including Mondou, a leading retailer of pet food and accessories.