BOWLING GREEN, KY. — Georgia-Pacific’s Consumer Products Group has unveiled plans to invest $100 million to expand its manufacturing facility in Bowling Green, a town in southern Kentucky. The investment will expand operations for the production of Dixie-branded plates and bowls.
Construction has commenced and the project is slated for completion in the first half of 2020.
“This expansion will help us continue meeting the needs of our customers, as demand continues to grow for high-quality, durable paper plates and bowls,” says Erik Sjogren, vice president and general manager of livingware at Georgia-Pacific. “We believe this expansion will also position our Bowling Green Dixie facility to remain competitive in the market and in the local community for the long-term.”
The expansion will include a new building and the addition of a new printer and several new plate forming presses. The project will create more than 50 full-time jobs, increasing total employment at the plant to about 200 people.
Originally built in 1991, the plant has been expanded several times. Production at the facility represents about 25 percent of all paper plates and bowls produced by Georgia-Pacific. The Atlanta-based company also operates a plant in Lexington, Ky.
Within Kentucky, Georgia-Pacific currently employs nearly 500 people directly, pays $28 million in direct wages and benefits and creates approximately 1,000 indirect jobs. Since 2013, the company has invested $66 million in state operations.
— Kristin Hiller