Phoenix Packaging Opens Pulaski Facility; 240 Jobs

Phoenix Packaging opened its new state-of-the-art, 108,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Dublin today with Gov. Bob McDonnell in attendance. Phoenix Packaging Operations, a subsidiary of Phoenix Packaging Group, will invest more than $20 million to establish its first U.S. operation in Pulaski County.

The company will manufacture thermoformed rigid plastic packaging for customers in the United States and also establish its North American headquarters in Pulaski. The project will create 240 new jobs.

McDonnell said, “Phoenix Packaging is an international company that produces the packaging for many major companies and household names. With this Pulaski County operation, the company will be in closer proximity to serve its U.S. customers.”

Phoenix Packaging Group, a family owned Latin American company dedicated to the creation, design, and manufacturing of plastic packaging and food service disposable products, is one of the most important packaging manufacturing conglomerates in Latin America with sales in more than 30 countries.

The company was established in 1999 with the integration of several industry leading companies in Colombia and Venezuela, and in 2003 a Mexican company joined the group. The company has eight locations in Latin America, employing 4,000 people in four countries. Its customers include Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Keurig, Van Houtte, Agro-Farma, General Mills, Sturm Foods and Colgate, for products such as ice cream and other dairy products, margarine, desserts, and soaps, as well as single-serve products such as yogurt and coffee.

“Phoenix Packaging chose the Commonwealth of Virginia to be the home of its U.S. operations after analyzing more than 40 possible locations in six states from the standpoint of geographical location, availability of qualified workforce, energy costs and state and local incentives, among others,” said Alberto Peisach, President and CEO, Phoenix Packaging Operations.

“We found that state and local authorities in Virginia were seriously committed to helping new companies set up their manufacturing facilities and bring in high-paying jobs. The state government’s proactive attitude in finding ways to meet our needs, and their flexibility in creating a program to help us find and train the right workforce, was far more forward-thinking than any competing states. With three major higher education institutions in the area, and the government officials’ unwavering interest in creating jobs, Pulaski County was hard to beat.”