Plastic conveyor belt maker Intralox LLC is investing $60 million to expand its molding and assembly capacity at its Hammond, La., plant.
The company said in a Nov. 18 statement that the expansion, which will be completed by the end of 2022, will expand its output by 50 percent, create 425 jobs and more than double the plant's footprint, to 400,000 square feet.
"This expansion is critical to support the strong growth we've experienced in the last few years," said President Edel Blanks. "With the new facility, we will rapidly increase our production and assembly capacity."
The company, which is based in Harahan, La., said it's the third expansion in Hammond in the last four years.
In 2017, it expanded its molding operations by 60,000 square feet and added 40 injection presses, and in 2019, added an automated warehouse that's 105 feet high and uses robots to store and retrieve parts.
A spokesman said the company has 83 injection molding machines in the Hammond plant, with four on order, and plans to add another 80 over the next eight years as part of the $60 million expansion.
Intralox said it's invested over $300 million in the last five years worldwide, including new facilities in Baltimore and in Australia and the Netherlands.
Its belts are used in the food, industrial and e-commerce industries, and the company said components molded in Hammond are shipped to Intralox assembly plants around the world.
In the announcement, Louisiana state officials estimated the project would create an additional 582 indirect jobs in supply chains over the next eight years.
The company employs 3,000 people worldwide and also has locations in China, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Japan and India.