Pratt Industries will build two recycled containerboard mills in the U.S.

Pratt Industries, a producer of 100% recycled fiber products, will build the facilities by 2026, company Executive Chairman Anthony Pratt told The Australian newspaper in an interview. Although he didn’t identify the locations of the mills, Pratt said he “would not be surprised if they were constructed next to facilities in states such as Indiana, near Chicago, or Ohio”.

The article didn’t include planned capacity figures but noted the company anticipates the mills will deliver about $1 billion each in annual earnings. The announcement comes shortly after Pratt Industries opened a 100% recycled paper containerboard mill in Wapakoneta, Ohio. That facility has a capacity of about 425,000 tons per year of recovered fiber, and it consumes mixed paper, OCC and double-lined kraft paper. Pratt’s new Ohio facility is “already his company’s best performing mill.” Before the Ohio project, Pratt opened a 100% recycled fiber mill in Valparaiso, Ind. in 2016, consuming 370,000 tons per year of primarily mixed paper.

The domestic capacity has come on-line at a pivotal time for U.S. recycled fiber end markets, as export demand has experienced major disruptions from 2017 on. Pratt Recycling, the MRF operator subsidiary of Pratt Industries, has described overseas import restrictions as an opportunity for the U.S. recycling sector to clean up its fiber stream.

About Pratt Industries

Pratt Industries’ operates 5 containerboard mills, which, combined, currently produce approximately 1.6 million tons per year of recycled linerboard and corrugated medium. The mills’ production is geared to lightweight, high performance grades of containerboard. About 95% of that production is consumed internally by Pratt’s vertically integrated sheet and box plants. The mills utilize recovered paper as raw material, much of which comes from Pratt’s Recycling Division.