ATLANTA, January 26, 2016 — Printpack, a leading manufacturer of flexible and specialty rigid packaging, celebrates 60 years of thriving in the fast-paced world of consumer packaged goods. This year, the company will mark its anniversary by completing several major initiatives designed to position the business for the future. These initiatives include an investment of $25.7 million to expand its manufacturing operation in the city of Newport News, Virginia and the completion of a separate recapitalization program to advance equipment capabilities.

The company’s expansion in Newport News will bolster Printpack’s rigid division and will result in the creation of 50 new jobs. Printpack Rigid – founded over 30 years ago in Virginia – pioneered barrier rigid containers, creating shelf stable packaging that offers convenience and preservation of foods in a consumer friendly format. The division was an originator of Solid Phase Pressure Forming (SPPF), revolutionizing the market by allowing products such as applesauce and diced fruit to convert from cans to plastic.

“We are pleased to be expanding our business in Virginia and are very appreciative of the support from the Governor, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, and the City of Newport News,” states Jim Stevenson, Director, Operations-Rigid at Printpack. “We decided to expand in Virginia largely because our well-established, capable workforce provides us a solid base of expertise to build upon. Additionally, strong relationships with and support from our local governments made expansion in Virginia a solid decision.”

Apart from the expansion of its Newport News operation, Printpack’s recapitalization program will expand Printpack’s manufacturing capabilities by adding the most advanced technology and equipment offered in the industry, allowing the company to deliver the highest quality and most consistent print graphics available to its customers.

“Printpack has shown amazing adaptability and longevity over the last 60 years in a market that is truly ever-changing,” says David Read, Vice President, Marketing & Technology at Printpack. “A large part of that is our constant willingness to reinvest in our equipment and employees in order to deliver the best for our customers.”

In 1956, J. Erskine Love, Jr. founded Printpack on the principle that cooperation, honesty, and integrity result in the best customer relationships and the highest quality, most innovative products. Those principals helped to catapult Printpack from a modest one-man operation to the $1.2 billion global firm it is today.

Over the last six decades, Printpack has been an industry pioneer in myriad ways, introducing many industry-first products and capabilities over that time span. In 2014, Printpack revolutionized the single serve coffee industry by introducing the first polypropylene coffee pod. The technology provided a significantly more sustainable solution than the formerly used polystyrene pods – a plastic notoriously difficult to recycle. More recently, Printpack created a new type of interactive packaging for brands by applying photochromic ink to flexible film for the first time, producing a package with ink that remains invisible until exposed to sunlight. For designs and innovations such as these, the company has been consistently honored by organizations such as the Flexible Packaging Association, the Flexographic Technical Association, the Association of Industrial Metallizers, Coaters & Laminators, and the Society of Packaging Handlers and Engineers.

“We are proud to say that Printpack has been a staple in the packaging industry for the last 60 years,” says Mr. Read. “Now, our focus and commitment is to the next 60.”