Montreal-based Kruger Packaging announced in May 2021 that it plans to create 150 jobs in Elizabethtown, Kentucky (south of Louisville) to produce corrugated boxes for the food and beverage sector in a multiyear period. The 400,000 square foot, US$114 million investment represents the company’s first corrugated box plant in the United States. At maturity, the new state-of-the-art plant will produce 2.4 billion square feet per year of corrugated boxes, which will allow Kruger Packaging to increase its offering to growing markets in the U.S.
Kruger Packaging will join 38 Canadian-owned facilities already operating in Kentucky. Since the start of 2020, Canada-based companies have announced projects that would create over 430 full-time jobs in Kentucky with over US$250 million in new investment according to the Governor’s office. This investment is inline with Kentucky’s agritech initiative which seeks to grow agriculture technologies that improve the profitability, predictability, and sustainability of food production, manufacturing and distribution across the Bluegrass state.
This Canadian investment reflects the interdependency of the U.S-Canadian markets, with both jurisdictions working together to create a business environment conducive to sustainable growth. Kruger’s innovation in processing, packaging and distribution will serve as a boon in Kentucky’s burgeoning agritech sector. At the same time, Kruger’s commitment to sustainability continuously supports Canada’s Federal Sustainable Development Strategy goals.
About Kruger:
Kruger Packaging is a subsidiary of Kruger Inc., a fourth generation family company founded in Montreal, Canada in 1904. Kruger Inc. is a major producer of tissue products, including the White Cloud® brand which is made in Memphis, TN, and sold across the U.S.; 100% recycled containerboard; corrugated packaging; publication papers; specialty papers; renewable energy; cellulosic biomaterials; and wines and spirits. In addition to having a portfolio of more than 40 green energy power plants with a combined installed capacity of 542 MW, the company is a leader in paper and paperboard recycling in North America. Kruger Inc. has facilities in Québec, Ontario, British Columbia, and Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as in Tennessee, Maine, New York, Virginia, North Carolina and Rhode Island in the U.S. (www.kruger.com).