Plastic packaging manufacturer to open in vacant building Sept. 1
A vacant building in the Valmont Industrial Park is about to get a new tenant. Graham Packaging LP is moving in. And it's creating 100 new jobs.
Graham is a manufacturer of plastic packaging. A release carried on PRnewswire said it will make "a variety of plastic bottles" for Dial Corp.
Graham is moving into the former American Home Patient building at 75 Jaycee Drive, right next to the Dial plant. The two plants will be connected by a conveyor belt.
The release stated Graham will make both polyethylene terephthalate (PET and high density polyethylene (HDPE) bottles for Dial.
The new operation is slated to open Sept. 1.
Bill Gallagher, chairman of the Hazle Township Zoning Hearing Board, said it does not appear Graham will need approval from either his board or the township Planning Commission.
"If they're moving into an existing plant, there isn't much they need," Gallagher said. "It's already zoned for industry."
"Dial is and has been a major customer and the decision to build this plant represents a significant commitment," said Scott G. Booth, senior vice president of Graham Packaging and general manager of its North American unit.
"This gives us an opportunity to take our relationship to the next level in terms of growth and opportunity," said Michael Bavaro, director of procurement for Dial. "This co- location arrangement will create new efficiencies in the supply chain between Graham Packaging and Dial that will enable us to be more responsive to our customer base."
Graham is a very large packaging manufacturer. The Valmont plant will be its 57th worldwide, 36th in the United States and seventh in Pennsylvania. Its foreign locations include Buenos Aires, Argentina; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Paris, France; Brussels, Belgium; Warsaw, Poland; Istanbul, Turkey and Mexico City, as well as several locations across Canada. Worldwide, Graham employs about 4,000 people.
Graham has also gotten the attention of retailers with its 64-ounce rectangular bottle it created for Michigan-based Old Orchard Juices. Retailers like it because its shape allows more product to be stored and merchandised in less space. Consumer reaction has been positive as well.
"It's easy to grab and easy to hold," Old Orchard President Mark Saur said when the new bottle was rolled out in January. "It has a clean and simple look and it displays the product inside very nicely, and because it takes a full-wrap label it billboards nicely on the store shelf too."
Graham has also had a financially healthy first quarter of 2004. A few weeks ago, it reported a whopping 11.9 percent net sales gain, and an eye-popping 16.9 increase in operating income, when compared with 2003's first quarter.
"We had a strong quarter from both a volume and operational perspective," Chairman and CEO Philip R. Yates said at the time. "A 20 percent increase in unit sales, combined with our continued focus on operational excellence, helped drive our overall performance."
