Green Bay Packaging announces $500 million expansion
Green Bay Packaging Inc. recently announced a $500 million expansion that is expected to more than double the company’s paper production capabilities.
The manufacturer of custom packaging and corrugated cardboard boxes will build a new recycled paper mill and expand the company’s shipping container division.
The news comes on the heels of the company’s May announcement that it has acquired Wisconsin Packaging Corp., a Fort Atkinson manufacturer of corrugated packaging and displays. Green Bay Packaging plans to continue to operate and grow the Fort Atkinson facility.
With $500 million in capital investment, the expansion will be one of the largest economic development projects in state history and the largest ever in Brown County. The new state-of-the-art recycled paper mill will cost over $475 million, and will replace an existing recycled paper machine that was originally built in 1947 and has been rebuilt three times since. The company will also invest $25 million in the expansion of its Green Bay Shipping Container Division.
“Papermaking has long been a staple in Wisconsin’s economic success, but it’s no secret that many paper mills across the state have closed down or moved out in recent years,” said Will Kress, president and CEO of Green Bay Packaging. “Like our Green Bay Mill, they grow old and become inefficient, and it becomes too expensive to reinvest—but we decided to move forward with building a new paper mill right here in Green Bay because we are committed to our hardworking employees, our loyal customers and this community.”
The decision to build the new, 100-percent-recycled paper machine in Green Bay will preserve more than 1,100 Green Bay Packaging jobs across Brown County, and is expected to create an additional 200 new jobs.
To help ensure that the company expands in Wisconsin, WEDC is working with Green Bay Packaging to provide about $60 million in state income tax credits for the project. This incentive is still subject to WEDC’s underwriting process and must be approved by its Board of Directors.
Any tax credits awarded to the company would be contingent upon the number of jobs created and retained and the amount of capital investment over that time. As is the case for all WEDC tax credit awards, the company would first have to create the jobs and make the capital investments before receiving any credits.
