Vets Plus Inc., a Wisconsin-based manufacturer of animal health and nutrition products, recently announced that it has acquired Merrick’s Inc., a maker of boluses, tablets, powders and electrolytes serving the production animal industry.

The new entity, known as Merrick’s Animal Health LLC, acquired Merrick’s assets effective Dec. 14, and will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vets Plus Inc., the company founded in 1990 by Rajiv Lall. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Vets Plus is an innovation leader in the global animal health industry, employing more than 200 people at its Menomonie, Wis., campus.

Merrick’s Animal Health will continue to manufacture and sell its full line of products from its manufacturing plant in Wonewoc, Wis., and sales and customer service operations will remain at its Middleton, Wis., office, the announcement said.

All Merrick’s employees will stay with the new entity, and all Merrick’s phone numbers and email addresses remain unchanged.

“We are thrilled to expand our offerings with this acquisition. Merrick’s has been a household name in the dairy industry since 1959,” said Lall, chief executive officer of Vets Plus. “Merrick’s products and customer portfolio are complementary to our existing business and allow us to leverage our strength as one company in expanding relationships with existing customers and creating new ones.”

Vets Plus president David Nelson added, "Vets Plus’ senior management team will serve as the management team of Merrick’s Animal Health. Johanna Kuehn will continue as director of food animal sales representing the expanded product line. Dan Shields will continue to lead the Wonewoc operations including quality control and nutrition. Both Ms. Kuehn and Dr. Shields bring extensive product and market knowledge and customer relationships to the new company and work well with our team at Vets Plus.”

“We are experiencing rapid growth as a company and see Merrick’s as a great addition to our product offerings and manufacturing capacity. With the addition of 66,000 sq. ft. of production and warehouse space at the Wonewoc plant, Vets Plus now has over 350,000 sq. ft. of production and warehouse space,” added Nelson.

Vets Plus is a leading manufacturer of health and nutrition products for livestock and companion animals. The company has customers throughout North America and maintains a sales office in Germany servicing Europe and Asia. The company creates custom formulations for innovative probiotics, nutritional supplements and pet treats.