Blow molder Alpla teams up with Henkel in $100M expansion

Blow molder Alpla Inc. is working with consumer products maker Henkel to spend more than $100 million to expand and improve operations at a laundry products plant in Kentucky.

Alpla will invest in infrastructure and equipment for a new bottle production area at Henkel's Bowling Green, Ky., campus.

Düsseldorf, Germany-based Henkel owns a wide variety of well-known brands, including Persil, Purex and All laundry detergents as well as Snuggle fabric softeners, Dial soaps and Right Guard deodorants and antiperspirants.

The total value of the work, which will increase capacity and efficiency as well as cut energy costs, is more than $130 million, the companies said.

The new packaging operation will total more than 170,000 square feet and be operated by Alpla. The packaging company will hire and manage employees at the on-site blow molding facility.

Henkel operates its largest laundry products plant in the South Central Kentucky Industrial Park, measuring more than 2 million square feet. That's about the size of 40 football fields, the company said.

Henkel already has spent more than $100 million on improvements at the Bowling Green facility, which is 25 years old. The added investment for Henkel will improve infrastructure, equipment and information technology, or IT, systems.

"While these packaging operations will be handled by a trusted supplier with expertise in this area, Henkel will focus on its core expertise of manufacturing and marketing," Dirk Holbach, a senior vice president at Henkel, said in a statement.

Alpla said the new project in Bowling Green expands its 34-year global partnership with Henkel. The companies expect the new bottle-making operation to begin production in the middle of next year. The new project is expected to add 60 new workers for Alpla.

"Beyond Henkel's direct employment contribution and community service efforts, the investment partnership with Alpla is a prime example of how the company's supplier network, especially within the transportation and packaging sectors, further magnifies their economic impact locally," Chamber CEO Ron Bunch said in a statement.

Alpla first arrived in Bowling Green in 2013 when the company spent more than $20 million to open a blow molding plant for Sun Products Corp., a maker of laundry detergent that Henkel subsequently acquired.

Alpla Inc. is a member of Hard, Austria-based Alpla-Werke Alwin Lehner GmbH & Co. KG, which has more than 20,000 employees at 178 manufacturing sites in 46 countries. Alpla makes bottles, closures, molded parts and packaging systems. The company ranks No. 5 among North American blow molders, with estimated blow molding sales in the region of $1.1 billion, according to Plastics News data.