One of the worlds’ largest recycled cardboard-box makers is planning to plow $500 million over the next decade into its Pennsylvania operations, which include a plant in the Carlisle area.
- The company is Pratt Industries, which has annual sales north of $6 billion and Australian-born businessperson Anthony Pratt at its helm.
- In a statement, Pratt said his company’s investment in Pennsylvania would bring new infrastructure in recycling, manufacturing and clean energy.
- The first part of the planned investment is $50 million in box-making machinery and a robotic warehousing system at the Carlisle-area plant, Pratt said at a press conference.
- The investments were applauded by Gov. Josh Shapiro, who also appeared at the press conference.
What’s already here: Pratt Industries is building on previous investments of about $500 million in Pennsylvania and billions of dollars in the U.S. overall.
- The Georgia-based corrugated packaging company opened its Carlisle-area box plant in 2021.
- The facility at 200 Goodman Drive in Dickinson Township employs 215 people.
- The company also has operations in the Reading area, Lehigh Valley and Montgomery County, with a total Pennsylvania workforce of more than 800 people.
- Pratt employs 10,000 people overall at plants across the U.S. and in Mexico, as well as an additional 5,000 in Asia and Australia.
What does it do: The privately held company makes corrugated packaging, i.e., cardboard boxes, from 100% recycled material.
- But it also dabbles in trucking, clean-energy production, specialty retail packaging and manufacturing of point-of-purchase displays.
- Anthony Pratt moved to the U.S. in 1991 to oversee expansion of his family’s business, founded by his grandfather.
- Its Australian arm is known as Visy.
Where is it going: Pratt sees opportunity in recycled cardboard, given the convergence between environmental concerns and the growth of e-commerce, which requires a lot of cardboard.
- Pratt has announced a string of investments in facilities around the U.S. over the last few months
- Just last week, for example, the company opened a $700 million recycled-paper mill and corrugated-box factory in Henderson, Kentucky.
- In June, Pratt cut the ribbon on a $235 million advanced-manufacturing box factory in Cedar Hills, Texas.
- In Georgia, the company is planning a $120 million cardboard factory that will employ 125 people.
