MASON, MICH. (Nov. 29, 11:20 a.m. ET) — Dart Container Corp. is planning a $47 million expansion and renovation of its headquarters and facilities in
The project includes a new 110,000 square foot corporate headquarters and a new 500,000 square foot warehouse, said Margo Burrage, a company spokeswoman.
Dart will also renovate existing space to better accommodate testing, development and machinery manufacturing operations, she said.
The expansion is spurred by Dart’s acquisition of rival Solo Cup Co. Dart purchased the Lake Forest, Ill.,-based company for $1 billion in May.
Dart needed the increased warehouse capacity to handle Solo Cup’s product distribution, Burrage said.
When the expansion is complete, Dart will also transfer Solo Cup’s corporate and administrative operations from
The new headquarters will be Dart’s largest office building and can house about 400 employees. The expansion will create 325 jobs, some of which will be filled by transferred Solo Cup employees.
Dart will break ground on the project in 2013 and it should be completed by 2014. Solo’s
“We’re in the midst of integrating the two companies. Our focus is on a successful integration,” she added.
The company received a $3 million performance-based grant from the Michigan Business Development Program for the expansion.
“We’re really excited that the growth of the company will create hundreds of new jobs in
Dart is one of the largest manufacturers of plastic and paper single-use foodservice packaging. With the Solo Cup acquisition, the company has about 15,000 employees and more than 45 plants, distribution centers and office locations worldwide.
Dart has estimated thermoforming sales of $1.27 billion and estimated total sales of more than $3 billion.
