Tobacco Packaging Factory to be Opened in Industrial Park

Source from:  from staff reports Reidsville Review 07/22/2005

Gov. Mike Easley today announced that Alcan Inc.,will open a tobacco packaging facility in Reidsville Industrial Park, creating 170 jobs and investing $42.6 million in the state over the next three years. The announcement was made possible in part by a $500,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund. "Alcan's decision to locate in North Carolina means 170 good jobs for the hard-working people in Rockingham County," Easley said. "We continue to work aggressively to make the economic and education investments necessary to maintain our top-ranked business environment that attracts companies such as Alcan and allows them to grow and thrive here." In addition to being a world leader in packaging for food, pharmaceutical, and beauty products, Alcan owns tobacco packaging facilities in Canada, Germany, Malaysia, Turkey, the Netherlands, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States. Existing plants are located in Atlanta and Richmond and North Carolina will house the company's third U.S. facility. The 170 new jobs will be highly skilled production positions and while individual pay will vary, the average weekly wage will be more than $700 a week plus benefits. The average wage for the county is $522 per week excluding benefits. "This investment shows our commitment to supporting the ongoing economic development taking place in Rockingham County," said Ralf Wunderlich, president of Alcan's Global Tobacco Packaging business. "We chose this location because of its close proximity to our key tobacco customers." The One North Carolina Fund assists the state in recruiting and expanding quality jobs by providing financial assistance to businesses or industries deemed by the governor to be vital to a healthy and growing state economy. Since 2001, this Fund has helped create more than 17,000 jobs and bring $2 billion in investment to our state. Other contributors that made this announcement possible include the N.C. Department of Commerce, N.C. Rural Center, N.C. Community College System, N.C. Employment Security Commission, Golden LEAF Foundation, the town of Reidsville, Rockingham County, Rockingham County Partnership for Economic & Tourism Development and Duke Power. Enditem