Mid South Extrusion Inc. is spending $4 million to expand its Monroe, La., film plant, with its ninth extrusion line expected to start running in August.
"In addition to a large increase in production capacity, it will allow (Mid South) to compete in new markets – and offer new products – that until now we were unable to participate in," noted Mid South President Ron Mason in a news release.
The new line will boost Mid South's extrusion capacity by as much as 16 percent. It now can process more than 62 million pounds per year of a range of polyethylenes in its 200,000-square-foot plant.
Mid South makes barrier films for retail packaging, laminations, and poultry and food-grade applications. It sells films to construction and pipe operations for in-process wrapping and to agricultural markets for mulch applications. Other packaging markets are bedding, furniture, carpets, medical, textile and canning. Its latest PE development is ExtrudTuff, a film engineered for industrial packaging.
Mid South started out in 1986 as a one-line, four-employee business. It now employs 130. Its 2012 sales were about $65 million, according to Plastics News' film and sheet survey.
Mid South expects to hire a dozen more employees. The Louisiana Economic Development group is supporting the project with a $200,000 Modernization Tax Credit, along offers to use the state's Enterprise Zone and Industrial Tax Exemption programs.