Plastipak Packaging, a major producer and supplier of plastic bottles to internationally branded companies such as Dr. Pepper, PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz and Procter & Gamble, will significantly expand its Garland manufacturing operation later this year. As just approved by the City, this major investment will realize $10 million in new valuation at Plastipak’s production facility and add six new jobs to its current workforce of 273 full-time positions over the next three years.
Plastipak’s main plant, located at 3201 Miller Park N, has been in continuous operation in Garland since 1996. Its nearly 400,000-square-foot production facility will receive this major capital investment to better support current and future business needs primarily through enhanced machinery and equipment. Plastipak also maintains nearly 500,000 square feet of additional space at two other Garland locations that are primarily dedicated to warehousing and distribution of their locally produced products.
Founded in 1967, Michigan-based Plastipak Packaging celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. Over the past half century, Plastipak has amassed over 700 United States patents for its technological advances in improving both operations and products. Total annual sales have topped $2.7 billion with an impressive 16.9 percent growth rate. Currently, the company is one of the largest global food-grade producers of recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) in the world. Its more than 6,000 employees are located in any one of its more than 60 production sites on five continents.
“We opened our Garland facility over 20 years ago to be close to our customers. The operational support that we’ve received from the City, Garland Power & Light and the local community college for our various training needs have been terrific,” said Scott Ratzman, regional operations manager at Plastipak Packaging.
Recently, Garland has seen a number of sizeable expansions across several key industries. Nutribiotech USA, a South Korean nutritional supplement manufacturer, announced a $100 million expansion of its U.S. headquarters in Garland last year and Digital Realty, the world’s largest full-scale data center operator, will be expanding with a $400 million addition to its already established $1 billion data center campus. Further, Germany’s Kirchhoff Automotive just approved a $20 million expansion of its Garland operation to better fabricate automotive components for several of General Motors’ Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac products.
The plastics industry cluster in Garland is quite robust with manufacturers including VPET USA, Inteplast Group, Bway Corporation and Lesso America all currently producing in the community. VPET USA, a California-based company, opened its 170,000-square-foot Garland facility in 2015 and Plastipak has nearly 900,000 square feet of space in the community that is dedicated to manufacturing, warehousing and distribution of its plastic products.
“Plastipak has been solidly growing in Garland for well over 20 years and we are very excited to see them expand their operations yet again. The plastics sector in the City has experienced tremendous growth over the past few years to the point that it is now one of our largest local industries,” said David Gwin, Garland’s economic development director.