Plastic pail manufacturer M&M Industries Inc. plans to spend about $42 million to expand operations in Chattanooga, Tenn.
The company will expand its current manufacturing plant in Chattanooga and buy and retrofit another building in the city. The projects will boost M&M's production capacity to support growth across its product lines, according to a Nov. 7 news release issued by Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam.
"We are excited about our new neighbors and our future employees," said M&M President and CEO Glenn Morris Jr. in a news release. "We see a bright future for M&M in this location."
M&M molds pails, plastic open head containers and custom packaging for chemical, pharmaceutical, health care, construction materials and other markets.
Glenn Morris Sr. established M&M in 1986. The founder was an inventor with 44 patents who developed a child-resistant cap for prescription bottles. He started in business in 1963 when he began packaging over-the-counter pharmaceuticals. His son Glenn Morris Jr. now owns and runs M&M.
M&M employs several hundred people in Chattanooga and at a factory in Phoenix. The Chattanooga expansions should create 110 more jobs.
"Expansions by existing businesses are the primary driver of Tennessee's economic growth," said Bob Rolfe, commissioner of Tennessee's Department of Economic and Community Development. M&M's plans reflect confidence that businesses have in the state's workforce and business climate, he added.
M&M can print up to eight colors on its pails using offset printing and also offers heat transfer labeling and in-mold labeling. Its product line includes screw-top pails, square pails and containers that are child-resistant and user-friendly to seniors.
Most products are United Nations certified and made with resins approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. They are suited to hazardous and non-hazardous wastes in liquid or solid form. The company recently debuted Super Kube, an FDA-grade, lightweight polypropylene pail featuring easy-pour bottom grips and tapered walls for nesting.