Plastic Container Corp. will open its second blow molding plant by the end of the year at a large site in Brownsville, Tenn.
The company is moving into a 160,000-square-foot building and plans to ramp up slowly to full production, said President Ron Rhoades in an Oct. 3 telephone interview.
Plastic Container also operates a plant with about 100,000 square feet of space at its headquarters in Champaign, Ill.
The company's growth and its ability to serve customers in the south and central United States were factors in the expansion, Rhoades said.
``The last couple of years, we've been very fortunate that the economy hasn't hurt us,'' Rhoades said. ``Across the board for all of our products, it has been very favorable.''
The company has built two production lines and will install shuttle blow molding equipment in the plant in late 2003, he said. The plant will make bottles for customers in the personal-care, household chemicals, food and aftermarket automotive markets, he said. The company also makes a variety of stock bottles.
Plastic Container will invest about $2 million in equipment and site improvements before opening the facility, he said. The firm will rent the site from the city of Brownsville, which bought the building for $1.2 million. The plant will start with 20-30 workers, he said.
Lasco Fluid Distribution Products Co., a maker of PVC pipe fittings, formerly occupied the site. Lasco moved to a new injection molding and distribution center in Brownsville in 1998.
``It hadn't been utilized except for storage and was well-suited to our needs,'' Rhoades said.
Plastic Container hopes to expand in Brownsville quickly, eventually employing up to 150, Rhoades said. The company will blow mold bottles made from high density polyethylene, PVC and polypropylene. The firm expects to record sales of about $14 million in 2003, Rhoades said.
