Midwest and South poised for new packaging manufacturing jobs

Pratt Industries, Pregis, Smurfit Westrock and Axium Packaging are among the companies that have announced or opened new or expanded production operations in recent weeks.

Axium Packaging plans to grow in its home state of Ohio. The New Albany-based plastic packaging company will invest $45 million in a new facility in Jersey Township, per a release from the Columbus Chamber of Commerce.

Ecopax is working on a more than 100,000-square-foot expansion of food service packaging production at its eight-year-old, more than 315,000-square-foot manufacturing and warehousing facility in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. 

Huhtamaki is planning an additional $10 million expansion of its operations in Hammond, Indiana, where the company has had a presence since 1946.

JBM Packaging in September broke ground on a new 52,500-square-foot building just one mile from its Lebanon, Ohio, headquarters. 

MCC, the labels company formerly called Multi-Color Corporation, recently opened a new corporate headquarters in Atlanta to support hybrid work, bringing together leaders and other local colleagues at the Buckhead location.

Pratt Industries announced Oct. 7 it’s investing $92.5 million to build out packaging manufacturing operations in York County, South Carolina. 

Pregis opened a new 477,000-square-foot paper converting center in Elgin, Illinois, on Sept. 19. It’s the company’s fifth U.S. site making mailing products and will become its Midwest hub for paper mailer production. 

Smurfit Westrock will expand its corrugated operations making cases, boxes and trays in Saltillo, Mississippi, by October 2026.

Midwest and South poised for new packaging manufacturing jobs | Packaging Dive

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