Berry investing $110 million to expand polypropylene capacity

Packaging supplier Berry Global Group Inc. has announced plans to spend more than US$110 million to expand its polypropylene thermoforming capacity in North America.

The investment is designed to allow the Evansville, Ind.-based company to increase the manufacture of clear drink cups and lids for quick-service restaurants, coffee shops, convenience stores, and other foodservice markets.

“Foodservice brand owners are steadily increasing their forecasted volumes with [our] production for access to [our] 30-plus active patents across clear cups and lids,” Berry officials said in a Sept. 14 news release. “In addition, customized plastic cup and lid brand owner solutions are a rapidly increasing market trend, pulling volume from alternative substrates since 2017.”

The news release also noted that polypropylene is viewed as one of the most sustainable and environmentally responsible transparent substrates available in the market today. “[Our] increased capacity will produce clear cups and clear lids made of polypropylene (#5 PP), which can be recycled into new packaging or one of the many other end markets for PP,” the company said.

Berry did not announce exactly where all of the expansions will take place, but did say they are expected to be operational in 2022, and to create a total of 200 new jobs.