US-based paper and packaging solutions provider WestRock plans to invest $410m at its kraft linerboard mill in Florence, South Carolina, US.
The two-year investment plan will see installation of a 330” kraft linerboard machine and related infrastructure at the mill to replace three older, narrow-width paper machines.
The new machine will have capacity to produce 710,000 tons of kraft linerboard annually, thus increasing the mill’s efficiency, quality and service levels.
WestRock said it intends to support the new machine and other mill projects by investing approximately $60m over the next five years.
WestRock CEO Steve Voorhees said: “This investment will make our Florence mill a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, sustaining good manufacturing jobs and promoting the long-term success of the mill.
“The support of the Florence County Economic Development Partnership and the South Carolina Department of Commerce helped make this investment possible and is greatly appreciated.”
The firm plans to begin production on the new linerboard machine, which will be installed in a building adjacent to the existing complex, in the first half of calendar 2020.
Upon completion of the investment program, the WestRock’s Florence mill is expected to be one of the lowest cost kraft linerboard mills in North America.
In September, the firm announced its plan to build new corrugated box plant in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
