2025 Community Awards Edition

There are many plants vying for greatness in the Redzone Community: 1,750 in fact. And while these facilities drive exceptional gains and transformational results, only one can win the coveted title of Redzone’s Plant of the Year. So, what makes one company rise above the rest? They don’t just master the fundamentals like the uplifts and the reductions. They master the results, as well as creating connected cultures; they empower their frontlines, trust is built, and ideas flow in every direction. At these factories, problems are an opportunity to drive improvements, and Kaizens are a way of life.

Champion Petfoods, a premium pet food manufacturer in Auburn, KY, has been named the 2025 Redzone Plant of the Year for its ability to drive extraordinary results.

The company has connected people, teams, and purpose in a dynamic loop of problem-solving and continuous improvement. The company includes teams from other departments, like warehousing and procurement, so that they can all contribute expertise to solving problems. For example, when raw materials drift out of specification, procurement is pinged automatically and works with suppliers in real-time to protect yield and quality.

Champion Petfoods seeks to humanize work. Leaders don’t just post numbers—they show up, listen, and celebrate with their teams. They even allow YouTube on iPads for breaks—because trust is a policy at Champion Petfoods, not just a poster.

So, who are some of the all-stars who helped notch these gains?

Kacey Hazel: an operator who ‘keeps the lines green,’ trains peers and proves standards are liberating, not limiting.

Garrett Reynolds: who helped the site move from scepticism about numbers to shared ownership of them.

Michael Harper: in quality assurance, who can walk an auditor through a quality run summary in three minutes now, not three days.

Champion Petfoods didn’t just digitize their factory—they transformed their business and operational processes, creating a culture of outperformance.

Champion Petfoods’ Results:

• 32% Productivity increase

• 80s Monthly OEE rates, which are world-class

• 41%+ Increase in warehousing efficiency, under the leadership of Dylan Sherman

• Recordable injury rate, down from 0.89 last year, meaning that employees are safer in the factory than in their own homes

• 28% Reduction in customer complaints

• 99.15% Right-first-time product orders, making the company elite in its category

• 70% reduction of weekend work. The production team reduced their Saturday working days by 70% from the previous year

“We have absolutely embraced Redzone and pushed it to everything it can do for us… [As a result], we have literally smashed every single KPI.” says Gemma Bristow—Plant Director”