Hartsville, SC-based Sonoco, a global producer of packaging products, today announced plans to upgrade its Darlington County (SC) plant. The $100-million investment is expected to create 230 new jobs over three years.
"We are extremely excited about this project. It is the single largest capital investment that Sonoco has made to our Hartsville manufacturing operations and in South Carolina," said Sonoco president/CEO Jack Sanders. "In addition to maintaining the viability of our operations and protecting hundreds of existing jobs, the project will create new growth opportunities and new jobs."
Sonoco will invest about $75 million to add a new biomass boiler to its plant in Hartsville, replacing two aging coal-fired boilers. The new boiler will be fueled primarily by woody biomass created by regional logging activity but can also run on natural gas. The boiler will produce about 16 MW of "green" energy that will be consumed by the manufacturing complex, as well as steam that is used in the papermaking process. The company will also upgrade a machine that produces corrugated paperboard, as well as emission-control technology on another boiler at the plant.
With expected receipt of the required construction permits this week, groundbreaking will begin this month with construction continuing until July 2013. The boiler is expected to be operational by the fourth quarter of 2013.
Employment activity during construction will peak at around 200, with up to 10 new jobs added, including about 30 indirect jobs due to the amount of biomass material that has to be collected and delivered to Sonoco. Sonoco has asked its contractor, McBurney, to work with the State Employment Commission and local employment agencies to hire as many qualified, locally-based, skilled workers as possible.
More info:
www.sonoco.com