With the addition of new space, the new facility will now have 205,000ft² of space that will help meet the increasing demand for high-quality films and support services
Pregis has announced an additional $32m investment to expand Grand Rapids facility in US. (Credit: Pregis LLC)
Protective packaging manufacturer Pregis is set to invest an additional $32m at its Grand Rapids manufacturing site in Michigan, US.
The latest investment will allow the company to expand the current Grand Rapids facility with the addition of an additional 55,000ft² for manufacturing, warehousing and office space.
With the addition of new space, the new facility will now have 205,000ft² of space that will help meet the increasing demand for high-quality films and support services.
The new structure will initially include additional custom Windmoeller & Hoelscher (W&H) blown film extrusion lines. It will also consist of additional space to place extra equipment to meet future demands.
The new multilayer polyethylene lines are expected to commence operations by the end of this month.
Pregis stated that the investment is in addition to the earlier $37m expenditure spent on the facility between 2016 and 2020.
The facility will also consist of additional material handling for expanded resin storage to meet market requirements.
The warehouse space at the Grand Rapids facility is suitable for inventory programmes, which will help minimise lead times for converters serving the food, medical and industrial markets.
Pregis’ performance flexibles operations president David Timm said: “We are seeing increased demand for higher quality films. This is being driven by our customers’ needs to meet more challenging flexible packaging applications.
“This latest investment will enable us to use more advanced resins in the production of films to offer enhanced strength, puncture and flex crack resistance attributes. This will also create opportunities for downgauging without sacrificing performance.”
Pregis will also upgrade the existing laboratory facilities with new equipment and capabilities for enhanced analytical capabilities.
An onsite research and development team will also coordinate with customers to enhance film structures and blends for specific applications.
Pregis also claimed that continued focus on light-weighting and increasing recycled content are in line with the company’s Pregis 2K30 sustainability goals.
In July this year, Pregis announced an investment of more than $14m to open a new manufacturing facility in the Atlanta area of Georgia, US.