Pratt Selects Indiana for New Board Mill

Pratt Industries Inc., Conyers, Ga., has announced plans to build a recycled-content paperboard mill in Valparaiso, Ind., adjacent to the company’s existing box plant. The official announcement follows reports over the past year that Pratt was considering building another board mill in the Midwest. The mill most recently completed by the company opened in Louisiana in 2009.

The Valparaiso facility, to go under the name Pratt Paper (Indiana) LLC, is expected to be completed by July 2015 will cost the company around $260 million. The mill will occupy a new 250,000 square-foot plant and will include a wastewater pre-treatment facility and road improvements. When fully operational the facility will be able to produce 360,000 tons of recycled-content board per year.

“This new facility will allow us to better service the needs of our expanding customer base, not only in the Midwest, but throughout the United States,” says Anthony Pratt, owner and chairman of Pratt. “Indiana is a perfect fit for us. We’ve been a part of the business community here for many years now and we know there is a skilled, reliable workforce available to us.”

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC) has offered Pratt Paper LLC up to $1.2 million in conditional tax credits and up to $200,000 in training grants based on the number of Indiana residents the company hires. Also assisting in the project will be the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority, which will support the project through its Deal Closing Fund. Energy company NIPSCO (Northern Indiana Public Service Co.) also has offered Pratt an estimated $15 million in additional energy and infrastructure incentives.

The City of Valparaiso offered tax abatement and tax increment financing as well as conduit financing through $200 million in industrial revenue bonds for the facility and equipment.

Founded in 1987, Pratt bills itself as the world’s largest privately held company to produce all of its paper and packaging from 100 percent recycled material. The company produces 1.15 million tons of recycled-content paper each year.