The expansion will allow the company to better serve existing and new customers in North America with a wide range of sustainable, fully recyclable and compostable, fibre-based packaging solutions, made from 100% recycled raw material in North America
The expansion will introduce new sustainable fibre-based products such as egg cartons. (Credit: monicore from Pixabay)
Finnish consumer packaging firm Huhtamaki has broken ground on a $100m project to expand its moulded fibre product manufacturing capacity in Hammond, Indiana, as part of its commitment to developing fibre solutions.
The expansion will allow the company to better serve existing and new customers in North America with a wide range of sustainable, fully recyclable and compostable, fibre-based packaging solutions, made from 100% recycled raw material in North America.
Covering an area of about 23,000m², the expanded facility will be constructed next to the company’s existing manufacturing unit in Hammond.
Huhtamaki has operated in Hammond, Indiana since 1948 and currently has about 140 employees. The company expects to create 100 new jobs once the project is fully operational.
The investment is anticipated to start ramping up towards the end of next year.
Huhtamaki president and CEO Charles Héaulmé said: “The investment in this new manufacturing capacity, adjacent to our existing site in Hammond represents our strong belief in the future development of the region and in the continued success of our customers – both current and new.
“The expansion will introduce new sustainable fibre-based products such as egg cartons and cup carriers – manufactured on state-of-the-art machinery developed by Huhtamaki – to our portfolio in the region and drive production efficiency.
“Our know-how in key packaging technologies and our strong track record in sustainability make us extremely well-positioned to support our customers and deliver on their sustainability agendas and goals with innovative solutions.”
Huhtamaki North America president Ann O’Hara said: “Our new investment builds on our existing technological expertise and will expand our manufacturing capacity, further leveraging the success of earlier expansions of other Huhtamaki units across North America and harnessing our global expertise in moulded fibre technology.
“This investment will enable us to better serve our customers in the growing North American consumer goods and retail markets.”
Huhtamaki is engaged in the manufacturing of packaging products for consumer-packaged goods, as well as tableware, cups, folding cartons, containers, carriers, trays and service ware for the food service industry and retail market.
The company currently employs about 4,400 people across 18 manufacturing units in North America – 17 units in the US and one unit in Mexico.
In March this year, Huhtamaki announced that its manufacturing site in Alf, Germany is switching its focus from plastics to smooth moulded fibre products to meet the demand for plastic-free alternatives for food packaging.