PackEx USA, an all-aluminium packaging and bottling company, is set to make waves in the beverage industry with its upcoming facility in Marianna, a city located in Jackson County (USA). With a strong commitment to sustainability and community pride, the company aims to reshape industry standards.
Notably, the East Coast has seen a lack of aluminium bottle and can filling operations, something local officials believe Jackson County is perfectly positioned to change. PackEx is relocating to a facility within Marianna’s industrial park, previously occupied by another bottling company. Following extensive renovations, the site will span 400,000 square feet.
“I’m from here and one of the pain points being from here is you do not have an amount of middle-class, decent-paying jobs that offer insurance, 401k, and everything a person needs to be able to live here. I love the homegrown, organic initiatives where you’re offering something to the people of this community, and that maybe will give them the opportunity that they don’t have to leave here to go get a good job,” said PackEx Chief Operating Officer Anthony Snider.
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The project represents an investment of over $50 million and is expected to create 75 new jobs across diverse roles from IT programming to skilled trades. Management aims to build a dynamic workforce by attracting both local talent and professionals from beyond Jackson County. Local officials say the partnership reflects the kind of forward-thinking growth Jackson County aims to foster.
“This location will give those brands the ability to create channels and expand their portfolios, expand those products. An example of that would be a cruise ship, would be a marketing channel. They have an initiative that is very favourable to aluminium. They want aluminium on those cruise ships. And you look at where we’re located, smack dab in the middle of the Panhandle and all of those ports, and I’ll leave from South Florida to South Texas, so the entire Gulf, and we’re right in the middle,” said PackEx President and Chief Strategy Officer Michael Clark.
Jackson County officials are collaborating with PackEx to help lower electricity costs and introduce renewable energy solutions to offset the facility’s power consumption. In support of workforce development, PackEx plans to partner with institutions like Chipola College and Haney Technical College to help prepare the next generation of skilled employees.
The company serves a wide range of beverage markets, including still, purified, flavoured, and sparkling water, as well as soda, energy drinks, natural juices, and sports drinks. Impressively, two major clients have already committed to using about 80 per cent of the facility’s capacity.
“We’re excited about the sustainability, the marketplace, the footprint. We’re seeking manufacturing logistics, distribution, tech, particularly clean tech. And this meets all those criteria. And to think that from this location, on the east coast for the first time in scale, we’re going to be providing the solution is very exciting,” added Jackson County Economic Development Committee President Darwin Gilmore.
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