OMAHA, NEB. — Scoular Co. has named its new freeze-dried pet food ingredient manufacturing subsidiary Petsource by Scoular.

The name was announced on Dec. 10.

Petsource will develop, procure, freeze-dry and package high-protein ingredients for pet food manufacturers.

“The name ‘Petsource’ signifies that we are redefining what start-to-finish looks like in pet food ingredient manufacturing,” said Amy Patterson, general manager of Petsource. “Petsource will be a one-stop shop for unparalleled levels of safety, quality and reliability across the freeze-dried pet food supply chain.”

Central to the project is a $50 million, 105,000-square-foot freeze-drying manufacturing plant under construction in Seward, Neb. Scoular broke ground in August, and the plant is on track to open in the fall of 2020.

 The plant will create up to 100 new jobs in Seward. Hiring is expected to begin in the spring of 2020.

Petsource also announced Jon Heussner as director of operations responsible for manufacturing at the Seward site. Mr. Heussner has held leadership roles in operations, project management and engineering for Tyson Foods, Conagra Brands, Hain Celestial Group and, most recently, Dean Foods.

 “As a lifelong pet owner with years of supply chain experience, it is a privilege to work with the great team assembled by Petsource to manufacture safe and high-quality products,” Mr. Heussner said.

When plans for the Seward facility were first announced in March, Paul T. Maass, chief executive officer of Scoular, said the need for quality ingredients has grown and expanded alongside the pet food industry.

“Pet owners increasingly seek protein-rich, nutritious and convenient products,” Mr. Maass said. “Scoular has worked with pet food partners for years providing procurement and supply chain solutions. This facility will provide our pet food customers a simplified and efficient ingredient supply chain, while meeting the fast-growing demand for freeze-dried protein ingredients.”

In addition to procurement and sourcing solutions, Scoular offers blending, custom packaging/repackaging, risk management and logistics services for the pet food industry. The company offers a broad spectrum of ingredients from No. 2 yellow corn to specialized gravy dust mix, proteins and fats to starches and flours.