Irving Tissue, the Canadian paper product manufacturer, confirmed plans yesterday to invest $600 million into its existing facility located in Macon, Georgia. The expansion is to accommodate an additional paper machine, aimed at boosting the plant's output by 50%. Fox 5 Atlanta reports that this strategic move is in response to the current demand, which has the facility's full production capacity already spoken for.
Marking the fifth anniversary of the mill, which specializes in private-label products for retailers, Marc Doucette, vice president of communications at Irving Tissue, stated, "We’ve had tremendous success in Macon and with the plant currently sold out, this is the right plant for the expansion." The expansion will not only bolster production but also bring 100 additional jobs to the local economy. Currently employing 400 workers, the expanded mill operations are projected to generate wages ranging from $22 to over $30 an hour. As recounted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, this wage scale equates to annual salaries between $45,760 and $62,400.
The company's current output stands at 165,000 tons annually from the Macon mill. With the new addition, this number is expected to jump to 248,000 tons. The enhancement includes an automated warehouse and advanced converting lines to process the tissue into final products. Company President Robert K. Irving ensured the supply chain integrity by sourcing pulp from their mill in Saint John, New Brunswick, buttressed by wood from company-owned lands in New Brunswick and Maine.
Projected completion dates for the new facilities are staggered, with the warehouse expected to be operational by 2026, and the new paper machine, coming online in 2027. According to the same statement by Doucette to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, conversations are currently ongoing regarding tax abatements, and, other possible incentives for the expansion. Potential fiscal benefits for Irving Tissue include $2 million in state income tax credits and property tax breaks from Macon-Bibb County.
As an international player with a portfolio that includes an oil company, railroads, media, and shipyards, Irving Tissue's expansion in Georgia indicates the company's confidence in the region's growth potential and labor market. Based in Dieppe, New Brunswick, Irving Tissue remains a key player in the family-owned industrial conglomerate's strategic operations.
