Pratt Industries acquires Albert Lea-based corrugated box business for $70 mn

CONYERS (Scrap Monster): Pratt Industries has announced that it has completed acquisition of Albert Lea-based Minnesota Corrugated Box (MCB)-a display and packaging solutions company for almost $70 million. The acquisition is expected to help integrate the new Indiana mill facility by converting nearly 50,000 tons of paper per year into new corrugated products. The acquired 250,000 sq. ft. facility is located 100 miles south of Minneapolis and employs nearly 150 people.

Conyers, Georgia-based Pratt Industries has been on a rapid expansion during recent times, through building of new facilities and acquisition of key facilities across the US. The company had recently unveiled its fourth 100% recycled paper mill in Indiana. In addition, the company had announced installation of 1.4-MW rooftop solar plant at its box plant in Staten Island, New York.

Antony Pratt, Chairman, Pratt Industries noted that it has either bought or built 67 factories since the inception of American operations nearly 25 years ago. With this acquisition, the company employs roughly 6,000 people across the US.

100% recycled mill

The company had celebrated the grand opening of its fourth 100% recyclable paper mill at Valparaiso, Indiana on March 31^st. It had invested $260 million for the development of the 250,000-square-foot paper mill, which is considered as the single largest investment made by the company in the US so far. The most environmentally friendly and modern containerboard mill in the world, as claimed by the company, is located 50 miles southeast of Chicago. The location is expected to benefit the company due to its proximity with the company’s corrugated box plant on the same site. The mill is expected to produce 500,000 tons of high-quality recycled paper at capacity.

Recycling milestone

Earlier during the year, Pratts Staten Island team had achieved an important milestone by producing 6 millionth ton of recycled paper, thus saving 102 million trees. The mill has been producing over 100 tons per day for the past three years. It must be noted that the Conyers, Georgia facility had hit the 6 million tons milestone in 2013.

Green Initiative

Pratt Industries in partnership with EnterSolar had installed a 1.4-MW rooftop solar plant at its Staten Island facility. The plant comprises of over 5,400 solar panels and is expected to replace almost 45% of its electricity usage with renewable solar energy. The initiative is in line with NY City’s efforts to meet 50% of its electricity requirement using renewable resources by 2030. The project, developed by EnterSolar was funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

 About Pratt Industries

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. Pratt Industries now has some 130 facilities in 26 states and is currently the fifth largest corrugated packaging company in the U.S.

About Minnesota Corrugated Box

Founded in 1983 with 12 employees and 30,000 square feet of production space, Minnesota Corrugated Box has grown to employ more than 150 people collaborating in a 250,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility. It serves over 250 customers in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.