Paper

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 U.S., with a grand opening celebration Thursday, March 31, 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 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, 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, he 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, “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, Costas said. Pratt’s $250 million investment also is the single largest private investment in the city’s history, he added.

The paper mill is capable of producing 370,000 tons of recycled-content board per year.