Nestlé Purina Petcare (), or simply Purina, is an American subsidiary of the Swiss corporation Nestlé, based in St. Louis, Missouri. It produces and markets pet food, treats, cat and dog litter. Some of its pet food brands include Purina Pro Plan, Purina Dog Chow, Friskies, Beneful and Purina One. The company was formed in 2001 by combining Nestlé's Friskies Petcare Company with Ralston Purina, which acquired it for $10.3 billion. , it is the second-largest pet food company globally (with the first being Mars Petcare), and the largest in the United States. Corporate history Origins In 1894, William H. Danforth, partnered with George Robinson and William Andrews, as they entered the business of feeding farm animals by founding the Robinson-Danforth Commission Company in St. Louis, Missouri. The name was changed to Ralston Purina in 1902. This was the same year (1902) that Ralston Purina built their first building at the current headquarters, 800 Chouteau Ave, St. Louis, Missouri. Nestlé Purina Petcare was formed in December 2001, when Nestlé acquired Ralston Purina for $10.3 billion and merged it with Nestlé's pet food business, Friskies PetCare Company. Ralston had marketed the Dog Chow, Cat Chow and Pro Plan pet food brands, while Nestlé produced Friskies and Alpo brand pet foods. The merger was opposed by consumer advocates, such as the Consumer Federation of America, due to anti-trust concerns. The two companies combined would become the largest pet food brand by market-share with a 45 percent share of the cat food market. The Federal Trade Commission approved the merger after the Meow Mix and Alley Cat brands from Ralston were sold to J.W. Childs Equity Partners, creating the separate Meow Mix Company. Ralston's St. Louis, Missouri location was chosen as the new company's North America headquarters. Early history Nestlé Purina Petcare continued integrating the two companies through 2002. It cut back dry dog food manufacturing at facilities inherited from Friskies PetCare Company in Jefferson, Wisconsin, St. Joseph, Missouri and Arden Hills, Minnesota, then moved those operations to manufacturing facilities acquired from Ralston. Expanded manufacturing facilities were planned in Dunkirk, New York and the St. Joseph location was later expanded for wet-food production. In Asia it shifted from a "dealer system" to managing its own distribution. In 2004 Nestlé Purina merged its North American and Latin America operations into a Nestlé Purina PetCare Americas division. In 2003, Nestlé Purina Petcare formed a partnership