Pratt unveils fourth 100-percent-recycled paper mill in US

Pratt Industries, headquartered in Conyers, Georgia, has unveiled its fourth 100-percent-recycled paper mill in the United States, with a grand opening celebration Thursday, March 31, 2016, at the Valparaiso, Indiana, facility.

The recycled paper mill started production the first week of October 2015. It represents the single largest investment the company has ever made in the U.S.

The $260 million, 250,000-square-foot paper mill is adjacent to the company’s existing corrugated box factory. Pratt Industries says the recycled box plant is the largest box plant in the world, while the new paper mill is “the most modern in the world,” said Pratt Chairman Anthony Pratt during an afternoon ceremony in Valparaiso for the mill’s grand opening.

Pratt said the new mill, located 50 miles southeast of Chicago, produces lightweight papers that “produce boxes that work.” It will supply the corrugated box plant next door, as well as the company’s other box-making sites throughout the Midwest region with recycled paper.

Pratt also recognized the strong manufacturing sector in the U.S., especially in Indiana, as a factor for the company’s decision to continue to invest in the country. The company has spent half a billion dollars on the Valparaiso site since 2000, Pratt said.

He has said America’s low energy costs and inherent entrepreneurial spirit had given rise to a new wave of manufacturing growth, especially in the Midwest, where he said industry is booming and jobs are coming back from China and elsewhere.

“Indiana ranks first in the country with a third of its GDP (gross domestic product) tied to manufacturing,” Pratt said. “We believe in America. We believe in American manufacturing and we’re here to stay.”

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence—who toured the mill and box plant March 31, along with Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas and a couple hundred guests—said Indiana is home to the highest concentration of manufacturing jobs in the nation. Pence shared that 2016 marks two milestones for the state of Indiana: this is the year it celebrates its bicentennial and also “today we have more Hoosiers going to work than ever before in the 200-year history of the state of Indiana,” he said.

Pence added, “Thank you [Pratt Industries] for believing in Indiana and recognizing that Indiana is the leading manufacturing state in America.”

Since 2009, Pence said, Indiana has added 89,000 manufacturing jobs, the second-fastest rate in the country.

In Valparaiso, Pratt now employs 500 workers, making it the largest private employer in the city, said Costas. Pratt’s $250 million investment also is the single largest private investment in the city’s history, he added.

“Indeed, Pratt Industries is part of the Valparaiso DNA and we look forward to many years together,” Costas said.

Remarking on the tour of the paper mill and corrugated fiberboard plant, Costas said, “One thing is for sure, the next time an Amazon box shows up on my doorstep, I’m probably going to be more amazed at the box than what’s inside the box.”

Amazon.com is one of a number of companies that depend on Pratt for its corrugated boxes, according to a sign that welcomes visitors into the box plant. “Pratt industries is known by the companies we keep,” the sign reads, accompanied by the logos of its nearly 40 customers, including Unilever, the U.S. Postal Service, Ford Motor Co., Procter & Gamble Co., Nestle and Home Depot Inc.

The paper mill is capable of producing 370,000 tons of recycled-content board per year. It was designed to use even less water, electricity and natural gas than its three sister mills in Georgia, New York and Louisiana. The mill includes a wastewater pretreatment facility, all of the water which is recycled.

Costas said there were several hurdles to overcome during the paper mill project, including water quality, site selection and site development. “But we worked through methodically those issues to make this happen,” Costas said of the completed paper mill.

Information provided on the site tour includes these facts:

 

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC) offered Pratt Paper LLC up to $1.2 million in conditional tax credits and up to $200,000 in training grants based on the number of Indiana residents the company hires. Also assisting in the project was the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority, which supported the project through its Deal Closing Fund. Energy company NIPSCO (Northern Indiana Public Service Co.) offered Pratt an estimated $15 million in additional energy and infrastructure incentives.

The city of Valparaiso offered tax abatement and tax increment financing as well as conduit financing through $200 million in industrial revenue bonds for the facility and equipment.

In June 2015, Pratt Industires announced it had opened recycling facilities in Gary, Indiana, and in Wichita, Kanasas to support its new paper mill in Valparaiso.

Founded in 1987, Pratt bills itself as the world’s largest privately held company to produce all of its paper and packaging from 100-percent-recycled material. The company produces 1.15 million tons of recycled-content paper each year. Pratt Industries now has some 130 facilities in 26 states and is currently the fifth largest corrugated packaging company in the U.S.