Paper

Celadon leases space for recycling plant

Celadon Development Corp. LLC plans to lease 37 acres of land from Port Tampa Bay in Florida, to construct a paper and cardboard recycling plant.

Port Tampa Bay Board of Commissioners has announced that it has approved the lease agreement with Celadon Development Corp. According to a news release from Port Tampa Bay, Celadon’s Tampa plant “will have significant economic and sustainability benefits, generating up to 20,000 export containers per year, creating approximately 100 jobs and involving a capital investment of $160 million during phase one of the project.”

Celadon is a partnership between Nicollet Industries and New Jersey-based Kamine Development Co., businesses focused on green infrastructure and sustainable development.

Port Tampa Bay says Celadon’s plant will receive and process mixed paper, old corrugated containers and plastic scrap into paper fiber sheets for export to Asia.

“We are delighted to welcome Celadon to the Port Tampa Bay family,” says Paul Anderson, Port Tampa Bay president and CEO.

Raul Alfonso, executive vice president and chief commercial officer of Port Tampa Bay, adds, “The project perfectly complements our container development strategy by generating export return loads heading back to Asia and filling containers that arrive with goods for retail and e-commerce distribution centers along the I-4 Corridor. With Celadon manufacturing plant’s location right next to our container terminal, we expect great synergies and supply chain cost savings.”

Green Bay Packaging begins paper 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. GBP 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 produces containerboard and consumes old corrugated containers and mixed paper, is at the mouth of the Fox River. According to a news release from GBP, its $500 million investment has had “a profound, positive impact on northeast Wisconsin’s economy and the environment.”

“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,” says Will Kress, the chairman and CEO of GBP. “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 company jobs across Brown County, Wisconsin, and more than 1,500 jobs in the state of Wisconsin. At the new mill, GBP says it plans 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.”

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 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 Szymanski, vice president of mill operations.