US packaging manufacturer Pregis (Deerfield, Illinois; www.pregis.com) has announced plans to invest USD 32m (EUR 27m) to expand its site at Grand Rapids, Michigan. This latest investment comes on top of USD 37m spent at the location between 2016 and 2020 (see Plasteurope.com of 26.04.2019).

“We are seeing increased demand for higher quality films. This is being driven by our customers’ needs to meet more challenging flexible packaging applications,” said David Timm, president of Pregis’ performance flexibles operations. “This latest investment will enable us to use more advanced resins in the production of films to offer enhanced strength, puncture and flex crack resistance attributes. This will also create opportunities for downgauging without sacrificing performance.”

The project will add 55,000 ft² for manufacturing, warehousing and office space, taking its total square footage to 205,000, to meet rising demand for films and support services.

Initially, the new facility will house additional blown film extrusion lines, custom made by German machine maker Windmoeller & Hoelscher (W&H, Lengerich; www.wh.group/int), with room to add more equipment in the future. The dedicated multilayer PE lines are scheduled to be operational by the end of September 2021.

Furthermore, Pregis will install additional material handling equipment for expanded resin storage. It will also upgrade its laboratory facilities to improve the firm’s analytical capabilities; an onsite R&D team works with customers to optimise film structures and blends for specific applications.

In July this year, Pregis said it intended to spend USD 80m on a new blown film extrusion facility in Anderson, South Carolina (see Plasteurope.com 26.07.2021).