Pet product company’s grand opening ‘a huge win’ for Wichita

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the location of Hyper Pet’s new headquarters.

When Hyper Pet cuts the ribbon on its new headquarters in south Wichita on Thursday, company officials won’t just be celebrating a new home.

They’re embracing a new future for the interactive pet products company.

The move “sets us up for growth in the future,” said Tim Blurton, CEO of Hyper Pet, which makes a wide range of products for dogs, including leashes, bowls, toys, snacks and muzzles. “It gives us a home we’re really proud of.”

The 103,000-square-foot building will be an anchor for the Ironhorse Manufacturing Park on the southwest corner of Seneca and MacArthur. It not only meets the growing warehousing demands of Hyper Pet’s brands — which include PETLOGIX, Wild Eats, Aussie Naturals and Outback Jack — it also allows for expansion in the years to come, Blurton said.

“It’s going to be a launch pad” for the company, he said.

Hyper Pet has about 40 employees and should easily double that number between acquisitions and expansion, said Andrew Nave, executive vice president of economic development for the Greater Wichita Partnership.

“We’re just ecstatic they chose to do it here,” Nave said. “They absolutely could have gone elsewhere. It was a huge win for us to keep them.”

Developer Jeff Lange said Hyper Pet “qualifies ... in spades” as the kind of business Wichita wants to retain: a locally owned small business that has grown significantly.

Hyper Pet has called south Wichita home for 35 years, but the former grocery store in a strip mall that was its former home constricted the company in a variety of ways. Among them were low ceilings that limited the warehousing capacity.

“They pretty well made up their mind to go to Kansas City,” Lange said. “The economics made sense.”

But Lange was able to show them his vision of what the CrossGate District and the Ironhorse Manufacturing Park can be and how Hyper Pet could be an anchor.

CrossGate encompasses 13 square miles in southwest Wichita, bordered by I-235 on the north, I-35 on the east and the Big Ditch on the west and south. Lange plans $200 million to $300 million in investment in that area over the next three decades.

The district includes the new 80-acre Steeple Bay multi-use development at I-235 and Seneca where Camping World and Gander Outdoors plan to open locations.

Work had already begun on the warehouse at Ironhorse as a spec project, but after Hyper Pet agreed to move there, the project was adapted to better suit their needs.

That includes designing the building the way Hyper Pet wanted it, with common spaces, lots of windows, an open-plan work area and a gym so employees can work out.

Products come in and go out through six doors, and Hyper Pet now has enough space to set up separate product packing lines for major customers such as Walmart and Menard’s.

The system is so efficient competitors even send their products to Hyper Pet for packing and distribution, said Sonia Cox, director of product marketing.

The warehouse is large enough now for products to be stacked five stories high — though that meant new safety training and forklifts for employees.

“We design and develop all the products that we sell,” Blurton said, and the new home has space dedicated to that.

They even use local dogs to test products and design the packaging different customers use for the products on their shelves.

There’s even a display room where Hyper Pet stages their many products for dogs and cats.

Blurton called the move a big commitment to Wichita.

Blurton said he gives Lange “huge credit” for what he’s trying to achieve, adding “we’re really excited” about what Hyper Pet will be able to do in its new location.

“We were able to show them our vision of the future,” Lange said.

Hyper Pet acquired Aussie Naturals and consolidated a warehouse in Murphy, N.C., with the Wichita plant. More acquisitions are possible, and Lange said a second building may be constructed at Ironhorse to accommodate Hyper Pet’s continued growth.

Nave called Hyper Pet’s decision to stay in Wichita “a great thing for a couple of different reasons.”

“To have a company like that, a homegrown company with very legitimate opportunities to expand elsewhere, for them to make the decision to remain and grow their workforce here is significant,” Nave said.

As a logistics company, Hyper Pet is part of a growing sector in Wichita’s economy.

“Those are so highly sought after” and are particularly important as Wichita strives to broaden its economy, he said.

Lange pointed to Pizza Hut and the Coleman Co. as examples of businesses born in Wichita that left town when new owners moved the operations to where their new headquarters were.

“Let’s do the reverse of that,” Lange said. “Let’s take those companies that are growing and expanding and provide them the catalyst and opportunity to do that here.”

This story was originally published July 25, 2018 at 4:19 PM.