Green Bay Packaging begins paper mill production

Green Bay Packaging Inc. (GBP), Green Bay, Wisconsin, has announced that the first reel of paper was produced March 11 at its paper mill in Green Bay. The company says this milestone comes two-and-a-half years after it broke ground on the site. The company now operates a total of five paper mills in the U.S.

GBP is a family-owned, vertically integrated manufacturing company consisting of corrugated shipping container plants, a folding carton facility, recycled and virgin containerboard mills, pressure-sensitive label roll-stock plants, timberlands a paper slitting operation, specialty converting operations and a sawmill facility.

The new mill, which will produce containerboard and is expected to consume old corrugated containers and mixed paper, is located at the mouth of the Fox River, south of the Leo Frigo Bridge. According to a news release from GBP, the company’s $500 million investment has had “a profound, positive impact on northeast Wisconsin’s economy and the environment.”

Green Bay Packaging

“These are exciting times at Green Bay Packaging as we ramp up production on our new paper machine,” says Will Kress, chairman and CEO of Green Bay Packaging. “This is the single biggest project in our company’s history, and it certainly would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of our internal people and our many partners and suppliers working together to turn this dream into reality. Not to be overlooked are the many great customers we have, without whom this project would not have been necessary or feasible.”

GBP says the construction and startup of the new mill will preserve about 1,100 Green Bay Packaging jobs across Brown County, Wisconsin, and more than 1,500 jobs in the state of Wisconsin. At the new mill, the company says it planned to add approximately 200 full-time jobs. 

“The team, led by Matt Szymanski, has done an outstanding job bringing this project in on time,” says Bryan Hollenbach, executive vice president of GBP. “This complex and intense project was completed on time and will play a significant role in the future of Green Bay Packaging. The entire team did an outstanding job.”

GBP reports that it partnered with local companies to design and construct the facility. Neenah, Wisconsin-based Miron Construction served as the general contractor for construction of the new mill.

Voith Paper was chosen as the full-line equipment supplier for this project, GBP says. Voith Paper’s North American headquarters are located in Appleton, Wisconsin. GBP says its partnership with Voith includes cutting-edge papermaking and fiber recycling technology.

“Every member of the Green Bay Packaging mill team worked tirelessly over the past several years to bring this vision to reality,” says Matt Szymanski, vice president of mill operations. “I am very proud of our team and the partnerships we forged during this project. The chemistry that was developed allowed us to meet our startup schedule in light of a global pandemic. Voith, Miron and our other major equipment suppliers have proven to be great partners that were committed to the success of this project, delivering a world-class paper mill.”