Nestlé has announced the opening of two new production units at its Purina pet food factory in Hungary, increasing output by 66%.

The expansion will see the annual production capacity of the facility increase from approximately 150,000 tonnes to 250,000 tonnes.

Nestlé has invested nearly Ft90bn ($245.5m) in the project, which means the food giant has put Ft268bn into the Purina pet food factory in the last 25 years.

Some 280 new jobs have been created. The investment will also add 100 new robots to the factory’s machinery.

The factory, located in Bük in north-western Hungary, exports 95% of its output to 50 countries. Nestlé described the plant as the “stronghold” of its European pet food production.

Péter Noszek, the CEO of Nestlé’s business in Hungary, said: “As one of the largest employers in the region, the Nestlé Purina factory in Bük will create more than 500 new jobs in the city between 2020 and 2025, thanks to its vigorous development and continuous investment.”

Nestlé has three factories in Hungary. The two others are a chocolate plant in Diósgyőr and a beverage powder facility in Szerencs, where it also has a sensory testing centre.

When Nestlé announced its first-half results in July, the company said its Purina Petcare business had, globally, been the “largest contributor” to its organic sales growth. The division’s first-half sales stood at Sfr9.37bn ($10.28bn), up from Sfr8.59bn a year earlier. The unit’s underlying operating profit was Sfr1.96bn, compared to Sfr1.64bn in the first half of 2022.

So far in 2023, Nestlé has announced plans to invest in production across its product categories in markets including Italy, Egypt, Brazil and India.