Amcor Rigid Plastics invests $20 million in bottle manufacturing
By Canadian Packaging Staff
General Bottling Amcor Rigid Plastics bottle manufacturing capital investment Plant ExpansionHuge investment earmarked for an expansion Amcor bottle manufacturing operations in Orlando to meet market demand for beverage and pharmaceutical packaging.
ORLANDO, Fla.—Amcor Rigid Plastics, the world’s leading producer of rigid plastic packaging, has announced a major expansion of its southeastern U.S. bottle manufacturing operation in response to strong market demand for beverage and pharmaceutical packaging.
The $20 million expansion in Orlando, Fla. also enables Amcor to centralize preform manufacturing and warehousing while delivering key sustainability advantages including improved logistics and shipping efficiencies.
Amcor recently relocated from an existing 168,000-square-foot plant near the Florida Turnpike to a new leased 500,000-square-foot facility within the Airport Industrial Park of Orlando, just a few miles from the former location.
The multi-million dollar investment will fund major infrastructure work to convert an unfinished shell structure into highly functional space for manufacturing, warehousing and offices.
The new facility—already up and running—is for production of hot fill and cold fill PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) bottles for beverages such as sports drinks and orange juice, along with HDPE (High-density polyethylene) pharmaceutical containers.
Amcor formally unveiled the new facility on January 24, 2013 during a grand opening celebration, attended by state and local officials.
“During this strong period of growth for our business, we’re thrilled to be able to bring our multi-technology and multi-material offering to this expanded new facility in Orlando,” says Larry Weber, vice-president and general manager for Amcor’s North American beverage business unit. “Our focus is to meet the expanded needs of our customers while also attracting new business.”
Amcor has already started to produce hot fill PET bottles and cold fill PET carafes for citrus beverages. The company has also started production of HDPE and LDPE (Low-density polyethylene) containers. Amcor will manufacture a majority of its preforms in house at Orlando, thus eliminating the previous cost associated with shipping in preforms.
The new expanded facility will eliminate the need for three offsite warehousing sites. In terms of future expansion, Amcor also has room to increase manufacturing. The current expansion is expected to result in a net increase of 29 new jobs with employment reaching approximately 150 workers by next year.
Amcor Rigid Plastics is among the world’s largest manufacturers of plastic packaging for the beverage, food, spirits, personal and home care, and pharmaceuticals industries with 65 facilities in 12 countries. For more information, go to www.amcor.com.
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