More than a dozen packaging companies across North America have recently announced facility expansions and new developments, reflecting continued growth in segments such as corrugated packaging, PET bottles, and flexible medical packaging.
Among the latest updates, Bay Cities has relocated its Midwest packout, fulfillment, and logistics operations to a new 230,000-square-foot facility in Oak Forest, Illinois, with operations commencing in February.
Cascades is investing $6.9 million in its Kingsey Falls, Quebec plant to enhance production capacity and improve sheet quality. The upgrades include new equipment aimed at refining surface finish and printing performance for industrial and food packaging applications.
ePac Flexible Packaging is expanding its footprint by opening a major new facility in Phoenix while increasing capacity at existing sites in Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Vancouver. The Phoenix plant will become its largest location, serving the rapidly growing Southwest U.S. market. The company has also entered a three-year, $50 million agreement with HP Inc. to deploy at least 10 digital printers across its network.
Hood Container has secured two industrial leases in Chicago totaling more than 391,000 square feet, according to CoStar.
International Paper plans to invest $225 million in a new greenfield box plant in Brandon, Mississippi. Construction is scheduled to begin in June, with operations expected by late 2027. The new facility will replace the nearby Richland plant, with employees transitioning to the new site.
Liberty Packaging has begun operations at a new facility in Riverside, California. The site features a digital printer designed to deliver faster, customized solutions for corrugated packaging and displays.
Lindenmeyr Munroe has opened a new distribution facility in Pompano Beach, Florida, aimed at improving product availability and enabling next-day delivery. This follows the recent relocation of its Orlando operations.
Nelipak has launched a new technical development center in Singapore to support the Asia-Pacific region. The center will focus on rigid and flexible packaging solutions for medical device and pharmaceutical applications.
Southeastern Container is investing $31 million to modernize its headquarters and expand closure production capacity in Asheville, North Carolina. The project is expected to add 12 jobs over the next 18 months.
Specialized Packaging Group has opened a 75,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Austin, Texas. Initially, the site will produce engineered corrugated and foam packaging for automotive and technology sectors.
Rand-Whitney has added three new facilities in El Paso, Texas, as well as Juarez and Reynosa in Mexico. These plants focus on graphic retail packaging and point-of-purchase displays, supported by advanced single-pass digital printing technology.
The Royal Group plans to lease a nearly 65,000-square-foot warehouse in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. The facility will support finished goods storage and foam-in-place production.
Yazoo Mills has completed construction of a $14 million, 107,000-square-foot plant in Hanover, Pennsylvania. The expansion includes five new high-speed production lines, with a grand opening expected soon.
Additional developments
Henkel has broken ground on a $70 million research and development center in Trumbull, Connecticut. The campus will consolidate multiple operations, including packaging teams, into a single location and is expected to open by the end of next year.
Meanwhile, Nefab has expanded in Mexico with a new 32,000-square-foot production and engineering facility in Guadalajara. The site integrates design, testing, prototyping, and manufacturing, and is expected to create 60 jobs within its first year.
