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Galva pet food company closing its doors

All Feed Processing and Packaging will be ceasing operations and closing its plant in Galva, Illinois, over the coming months.

All Feed Processing and Packaging will be ceasing operations and closing its plant in Galva, Illinois, over the coming months.

The pet food ingredient manufacturer has operated in Galva for nearly 18 years and currently employees around 35 people.

"For Galva, 35 people is pretty huge. It's a great number. It's too bad he's closing. It's certainly going to leave a big hole in the town, that's for sure," said Mayor Rich Nordstrom upon hearing the news.

Owner Tim Anderson, though, is angry -- saying it's over-regulation from the government that has forced him out of business.

"That's infuriating to me, that they're taking my tax dollars to abuse me and businesses like me," said Anderson.

Over the past 14 years, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, has come down hard on All Feed, citing the company for more than 70 violations. Anderson said the fines have topped $1 million.

In May 2014, OSHA issued a statement, saying, "All-Feed Processing and Packaging continues to demonstrate a complete disregard for the health and safety of its workers by failing to protect them from combustible dust hazards. These can ignite quickly-without warning-and can cause catastrophic damage."

Anderson says those accusations are unfair.

"That statement says that we did nothing from the time that they approached us until the time that they came back and re-cited us, wrote the new citation. And it's totally untrue. Everything they've asked for, that we have been able to afford to do, we have done," said Anderson.

Anderson says he has gone above and beyond industry standards, spending millions to implement new OSHA requirements, but that he simply can't afford to fight the fines anymore.

"We want to be a good neighbor, we want to employ local. I've always found that a privilege, to be an employer. But this... it's taken the luster off of that," said Anderson.

Anderson says there is no set date for the plant's closure.

All Feed will work over the next few months to complete existing orders, but no new contracts will be signed.

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