WestRock to Build New Corrugated Box Plant in Wisconsin

WestRock Company (NYSE:WRK) today announced plans to build a new corrugated box plant in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, to meet growing demand from customers in the Great Lakes region. The Company intends to close its existing plant in North Chicago when construction of the new facility is completed.

This investment will position WestRock to increase its production capabilities and improve its cost profile in the Great Lakes region. Construction is estimated to cost approximately $140 million and is expected to be partially offset by property sales.

“Investing in a new state-of-the-art corrugated converting facility elevates our production capabilities and better supports our end market strategy and margin improvement targets,” said David B. Sewell, chief executive officer, WestRock. “We are pleased to expand our presence in an area of critical demand like the Great Lakes and are confident that by implementing production initiatives such as these, we will continue to solidify WestRock’s position as the supplier of choice.”

The new facility is expected to:
*Support reduced manufacturing costs and waste, improving WestRock’s overall manufacturing cost profile;
*Improve sustainability through reduced energy consumption and new technology;
*Improve quality and customer satisfaction using state-of-the-art automation;
*Enhance digital capabilities and provide real-time data to improve decision making and reduce unplanned downtime; and
*Serve all key end markets in the Great Lakes region, which include retail, distribution, processed food, industrial, and protein businesses among others.

Construction will begin in 2024 and is expected to be completed in 2025.
https://ir.westrock.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2024/WestRock-to-Build-New-Corrugated-Box-Plant-in-Wisconsin/default.aspx

Related Posts

Conwed Launches a Refresh Brand and Contemporary Website

Conwed, a Mativ brand and globally recognized netting manufacturer, unveiled its newly refreshed branding and a contemporary website that more distinctly features its innovative extruded, oriented, and multilayer netting offering for agriculture, packaging and consumer goods, filtration, industrial, medical, erosion control, energy applications, and more. The new look honors Conwed’s legacy and credibility while advancing the brand as modern and innovative. The visual identity pays homage to the original Conwed logo and includes a globe representing how Conwed often “hold the world together.” “Conwed is well-known for its innovative products and industry leading quality. Our new visual identity reintroduces customers to the idea that Conwed is an essential partner of leading manufacturers in a variety of markets,” says Vishal Rao, President, Industrials business unit, Mativ.

Enthusiastic Employees Return to Work in Kingsport

2022 has brought new life to our Kingsport Mill. In addition to 31,500 tons of material from the mill’s original structures being recycled to form the foundation for the mill’s future, employees who once made paper there are set to return to work as new buildings rise in the place where the others stood for more than a century. Construction isn’t the only new life being breathed into the mill. The site is buzzing again as employees prepare to return to work and get accustomed to the mill’s new layout, containerboard product and processes. With all the changes to the site, even long-time employees are having to relearn their way around.

Stora Enso invests in conversion to accelerate growth in renewable packaging

Stora Enso has decided to invest approximately EUR 1 billion to convert the remaining idle paper machine at the Group’s Oulu site in Finland into a high-volume consumer board production line. The investment supports the Group’s growth strategy in renewable packaging by providing new volume for growing packaging segments. Production on the converted machine is estimated to start in early 2025. Following the first machine conversion at the Oulu site in 2021 from paper to kraftliner, the remaining idle paper line will be converted into a state-of-the-art highly flexible consumer board line for folding box board (FBB) and coated unbleached kraft (CUK). The total annual capacity will be 750,000 tonnes of consumer board. The target end-use segments are food and beverage packaging, especially frozen and chilled, and dry and fast food, mainly in Europe and North America.
Back To Top
×Close search
Search