USA – British packaging company, DS Smith has opened a new state-of-the art corrugated packaging manufacturing plant in Lebanon, Indiana.
The manufacturing plant has a capacity to produce more than 17 million square feet of lightweight recyclable packaging or about 30,000 boxes an hour and 2 billion square feet of recyclable packaging a year.
The plant integrates the company’s latest technology, which DS Smith said will help in addressing the increasing demands by consumers and retailers for fully recyclable boxes and “fit-to-product” packaging.
“Our new facility in Indiana is unique to the US market,” said Miles Roberts, Group CEO of DS Smith.
“With our innovative packaging design and focus on sustainable materials, we can support our customers’ needs in a changing world, no matter how sophisticated their requirements.
“We look forward to serving many of the global brands we work with in Europe, as well as a range of new customers, with their US-based packaging.”
The lightweight material is a key differentiator of the products DS Smith will manufacture at the new facility.
According to the company, the 550,000-square-foot facility will produce packaging made with the lightest possible materials and will utilize 30% to 40% less fiber than what is traditionally used in the US.
“Our new box plant stands apart from the rest in the industry is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and machinery that relies on fully automated operations,” said Mark Ushpol, managing director of packaging for DS Smith in North America.
“Our talent and teams are free to focus on working directly with customers designing custom packaging that reduces system waste, drives sustainability and provides immediate value to the supply chain.”
DS Smith views the plant as a job-creating economic catalyst for central Indiana, making the town of Lebanon home to one of the world’s most sophisticated corrugated manufacturing facilities.
It is expected to result in 170 new jobs in Lebanon in engineering, machinery, production, sales and management positions.
DS Smith has also unveiled plans of ensuring that the plant is certified by British Retail Consortium (BRC), a leading trade association for the UK food industry globally recognized “gold standard” for food safety.
