Nestle Purina has opened its 300-worker, $450 million dry pet food factory in the former Miller-Coors brewery. It’s in Eden, in Rockingham County. Town officials say it’s the biggest manufacturing investment ever in the county. The company received over $50 million in government incentives. It took the company over four years to retrofit the plant.

The 1.3 million-square-foot plant is the 23rd for Purina. The new factory will focus on Purina Dog Chow, which is in unusually short supply. The plant will be open seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

Raw ingredients are processed, mixed and cooked using a proprietary recipe, then extruded into bite-sized kibbles – smaller for cats than for dogs, and in an array of shapes – before being cooled and coated for added nutrition and flavor. The drying greatly adds to shelf life; without it, the kibble would mold in two or three days.