MonoSol investing $72 million in Indiana film plant

MonoSol LLC expects to spend $72 million in Indiana as the maker of water soluble films continues what has now become a years-long growth trend.

The Merrillville, Ind.-based company has decided to move beyond its manufacturing footprint in northwest Indiana, but not too far, in construction of its latest manufacturing site for polyvinyl alcohol films.

The company has struck a deal to create a new 150,000-square-foot plant in Lebanon, Ind., according to CEO P. Scott Bening. Up to 89 new jobs will be created.

"We finally got to the point where business continues to grow and we are needing to go beyond the scope of just being in the region where we are in northwest Indiana. Many of our customers are located farther south of here. We just felt our best option for the company, after doing a site selection study in the United States, was to stay in the Midwest for many different reasons," he said.

"The state of Indiana has been great to us and the city of Lebanon was tremendous and it just all came together. It's just a great location for us," Bening said.

Lebanon, near Indianapolis, is about 115 miles from the company's Merrillville headquarters and more centrally located in Indiana.

"The plant is going to be designed to make the full array of our soluble films we produce. The majority of that volume goes into making soluble delivery systems for laundry and dishwasher detergent. There are many other applications as well," he said.

MonoSol has been experiencing tremendous growth over the last decade, and the new facility will be designed to potentially expand to more than 400,000 square feet in the future. Any determination on possible expansion in Lebanon will be made later.

"As we continue to grow globally, we will decide at that time," Bening said. Future growth plans include locations outside of Indiana, where the company already operates two sites in Portage and one in La Porte. The company also has plants in Hartlebury, England, and Saijo, Japan.

"We've had one year in the last decade that we weren't expanding. We've had one year off in the last decade. I think it's going to continue to grow. We continue to develop and innovate to allow our customers to do even more with soluble films," Bening said.

Because of the nature of water soluble films, climate does play a part in where MonoSol locates facilities.

"It wouldn't be a good idea to make our products in a dry, hot area or a humid area because there's water in them," the CEO explained. "We did look around the entire Midwest and the neighboring states of Indiana were strongly considered.

"The state of Indiana and the city of Lebanon stepped up," he said. That includes a $3.7 million tax abatement from the city, Bening confirmed.

Construction is expected to begin soon.

"It's site ready. It's ready to build," he said about the location in an industrial park. "We will start moving dirt as soon as the weather permits and permits permit."

Production could begin anywhere from the end of 2019 to the end of 2020, depending on how the project progresses.

MonoSol, founded in 1953, is owned by Kuraray Co. Ltd. of Tokyo.