Printpack to Make $7 Million
James City County Plant Expansion

James City County and Printpack, Inc., officials today jointly disclosed plans for a major expansion of Printpack's Rampart Packaging Division manufacturing plant in the Busch Corporate Center. The $7 million expansion will add 12,000 square feet of manufacturing space enabling the installation of additional manufacturing capacity. This will include extrusion equipment to produce plastic sheet and thermoforming equipment to produce containers such as cups for apple sauce, pudding, salsa and pet food.

Construction on the new facility began this spring and is expected to be complete by fall of 1998. An estimated 20 new jobs will be created as a result of the expansion, bringing the total employed at Printpack's James City County location to 140. "This addition will effectively increase our production capability at this location by more than 50 percent," said Fred Crowe, Vice President and General Manager of Printpack's Rampart Packaging Division. "Strong business growth in our market niche areas and James City County's positive business environment were two major factors influencing our decision to commit more resources to this segment of our business."

Printpack, a manufacturer of flexible packaging based in Atlanta, Georgia, acquired the Williamsburg area operation in August 1996, as part of its purchase of James River Corporation's Flexible Packaging business. The plant began operations in the Busch Corporate Center in September 1984, as a subsidiary of Shell Oil Company.

Keith Taylor, James City County's Economic Development Director, called this another major victory in the County's quest to both retain and expand its economic base. "A condition of the Printpack expansion is a twenty-year extension of its lease here," Taylor noted. "Our citizens, Board of Supervisors, Economic Development Authority, and staff are delighted with this long term, continuing commitment by this fine corporate citizen, and pleased that we could assist its principals with moving this project through to the approval stage."