Berry Plastics Group to optimize production through US$31M investment; company purchasing new infrastructure and equipment for four of its manufacturing operations in Indiana as well as transferring existing equipment to operations from other facilities

Elyse Blye

EVANSVILLE, Indiana , January 13, 2014 (press release) – Today, Berry Plastics Group, Inc. (NYSE: BERY) announced plans to further optimize production and relocate manufacturing equipment to four of its Indiana manufacturing operations. The Company will invest approximately $31 million for new infrastructure and equipment, and will also transfer existing equipment from other Berry Plastics facilities. The project will begin in early 2014 and will result in the addition of more than 330 production jobs, over the next two years, at the Company’s downtown Evansville, Evansville airport, Princeton, and Richmond facilities located within Vanderburgh, Gibson, and Wayne counties in Indiana.

"The relocation of production equipment to Vanderburgh, Gibson, and Wayne counties from other Berry facilities supports our restructuring efforts, announced in November 2013, to optimize our manufacturing operations, maximize production efficiencies, and best service our customers,” said Jon Rich, Chairman and CEO of Berry Plastics. “We are extremely appreciative of Indiana’s city, county, and state officials and other partners such as GAGE and Vectren for their joint support of this initiative.”

To encourage the investment and job creation in Indiana, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) offered the Company a grant up to $300,000 to facilitate job skills training and $2.35 million in Economic Development for Growing Economy (EDGE) tax credits which may be certified over the next 10 years. In addition, the City of Evansville offered the Company a 10-year Tax Phase-In on real property investment, with an estimated value of $1.7 million, and a Modified Schedule of Tax Abatement on personal property investment, with an estimated value of $2.8 million. The City also offered a Hiring/Training Grant with a maximum of $100,000.

In early 2014, the Company will begin accepting applications for the aforementioned production jobs, which will be posted in the Career section of the Company’s website.

“There’s a reason why manufacturing companies looking for a competitive advantage continue to choose Indiana,” said Governor Mike Pence. “As a state that works, Indiana offers a strong legacy in building products that are used around the world. We provide the knowledgeable workforce and low-cost business environment companies like Berry Plastics are seeking when they decide where to locate their next investment, proving why Indiana is a manufacturing leader.”

“Berry Plastics continues to demonstrate its commitment to our city with another major expansion that will create 280 new production jobs at its Evansville facility. The partnership between the city and Berry Plastics has produced new investments exceeding $64 million and a total of 395 production jobs over the past two years,” said Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke.

“As Berry Plastics continues to make significant investments in our community, it’s equally important that we, as their energy provider, support this economic growth,” said Carl Chapman, Vectren’s president, chairman and CEO. “We wanted to ensure the current contract design fostered long-term expansion opportunities, including a competitive rate structure tied to job growth. We look forward to our continued partnership with Berry Plastics in the coming years and assurance of safe, reliable energy service as their expansion efforts become operational.”

“Economic development incentives and a business-friendly environment are just as important to helping our existing companies as they are to attracting new companies. They allowed Berry to choose Evansville for more investment and for 280 of these jobs, with a forecasted economic impact of over $1.8 billion per year,” added Deborah Dewey, President of the Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville.

About Berry Plastics

Berry Plastics Group, Inc. is a leading provider of value-added plastic consumer packaging and engineered materials delivering high-quality customized solutions to our customers with annual net sales of $4.6 billion in fiscal 2013. With world headquarters in Evansville, Indiana, the Company’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BERY. For additional information, visit the Company’s website at www.berryplastics.com.

* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.