There likely aren't many people in Perham, Minn., who don't know about Tuffy's Pet Foods and KLN Family Brands. And most likely consider the Nelson family a household name. After all, it was almost 60 years ago when Darrell "Tuffy" Nelson started Tuffy's Pet Foods with just 13 employees in the Minnesota lake country community. The legacy business that has been passed on to a second and now a third generation of Nelsons has evolved from offerings of pet food to sweet and salty snacks, and back again. The family brand that has exerted its corporate and community influence on the city of Perham is now making its mark just three hours south, outside the Twin Cities, in the city of Delano. Just shy of three years ago, the company broke ground on its 173,500-square-foot pet treat plant and since then, operations have been in full force. With the pet treat production barely at full operational capacity, the company has already adjusted its original production plans and branched out into the uncharted territory of canned pet food production.
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