KapStone Announces Investment In California Converting Assets
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KapStone, Northbrook, Ill., USA, this past week announced it is making an investment in building a new state-of-the-art sheet plant in Ontario, Calif., as well as investing as a minority partner in a sheet feeder in Ontario. The new sheet plant is expected to be manufacturing boxes by January 2017 and is intended to primarily supply the company's Victory Packaging operations in Southern California as well as other KapStone customers.
This venture, as well as another minority investment in a sheet feeder announced this past week, are expected to increase KapStone's vertical integration by more than 60,000 tpy and will ramp up to that level over 18 months. Collectively, these investments are expected to be approximately $25 million and will be largely funded before fiscal year end 2016.
"These investments are consistent with our strategy to increase the vertical integration of KapStone's mills, reducing exposure to non-integrated end markets, and are in addition to the 20,000 to 25,000 tpy vertical integration from the Central Florida Box acquisition. The Ontario sheet plant will further extend our geographic reach to better service KapStone's customers while internalizing the production of some of our Victory Packaging corrugated box demand," said Chairman and CEO of Kapstone Roger Stone.
Kapstoney is the fifth largest producer of containerboard and corrugated packaging products and is the largest kraft paper producer in the U.S. The company has four paper mills, 22 wholly owned corrugated converting facilities (including Ontario), 65 distribution centers, and approximately 6,300 employees.
