Berry Plastics Group, Inc. To Reopen its Madisonville, Kentucky Facility

"I am very pleased to announce that we will soon begin reconfiguring our Madisonville, Kentucky, facility which is slated to begin production in 2013," said Jon Rich, Chairman and CEO of Berry Plastics.

7 Nov 2012 --- At a news conference held at the Madisonville/Hopkins County Economic Development Corporation, Berry Plastics Group, Inc., together with Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear, announced that the Company will reopen its Madisonville, Kentucky, manufacturing facility to increase its production capacity.

"I am very pleased to announce that we will soon begin reconfiguring our Madisonville, Kentucky, facility which is slated to begin production in 2013," said Jon Rich, Chairman and CEO of Berry Plastics. "We are extremely appreciative of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Hopkins County officials, and the city of Madisonville for their joint support of this initiative, which will allow us to reopen the facility, creating the opportunity for new jobs within the region and specifically the Madisonville community."
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"This is a tremendous day for the Commonwealth, Madisonville, and Berry Plastics, with more than 400 jobs being created and a significant capital investment being made," said Gov. Beshear. "Today's announcement is a demonstration that Berry Plastics continues to build on its growth as a leading global manufacturer in its field."

"Today is indeed a great day in Madisonville," said Madisonville Mayor David Jackson. "The city of Madisonville welcomes Berry Plastics' investment of capital and jobs to our industrial community. The tremendous investment and large number of jobs will have a wonderful impact on our community. Many of our citizens will have increased opportunities to prosper economically leading to higher standards of living. Our thanks go to Berry Plastics for making the decision to invest in Madisonville, to the Commonwealth of Kentucky for assisting in this project, the Madisonville/Hopkins County Economic Development Corporation for steering the project, and the wonderful citizens of Madisonville, whose work ethic and desire for growth makes this city competitive in economic development."

Berry acquired the Madisonville (Hopkins County) facility during its acquisition of Rexam's specialty and beverage closures business in August 2011. Earlier this year, the Company shuttered the facility, as a result of the redistribution of production to its other rigid closed top manufacturing facilities. The facility had employed approximately 140. Berry announced today that it will convert the facility to manufacture rigid open top products.

To encourage the investment and job creation in Madisonville, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $10 million through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the term of the agreement through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.

Over the next few years, Berry will ramp up employment at the facility to reach a targeted employment level of 400. In early 2013, the Company will begin accepting applications for these positions which are expected to be filled predominately by residents of Kentucky.

"On behalf of the citizens of Hopkins County, I wish to applaud Berry Plastics for choosing Madisonville and Hopkins County for this significant investment," said Hopkins County Judge-Executive Donald Carroll. "We pledge as a community to work with Berry Plastics in achieving success with this plant now and in the future. We are excited about the tremendous number of jobs and investment and what that means for Hopkins County. Our thanks go out to the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the local economic development corporation for their efforts."

KEDFA also approved Berry Plastics for tax benefits up to $450,000 through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act, which allows approved companies to recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures, equipment used in research and development and electronic processing equipment.

Kent Mills, Chairman of the Madisonville/Hopkins County Economic Development Corporation, said that the MHCEDC has worked with the company for several months on the selection of Madisonville/Hopkins County for this significant new project. He stated, "This new Berry Plastics production facility represents one of the largest projects ever announced in Madisonville and Hopkins County. We look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with the company and will work closely as a partner to realize success for the company and community."

Chairman Mills stated, "Locally, this was a team project." He saluted the partnership of the City of Madisonville, Hopkins County, MHCEDC, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Madisonville Community College, Kentucky Utilities and Atmos Energy, for their diligence and cooperation on this project. He also extended a personal thanks to Mayor David Jackson, Judge Executive Donald Carroll, the members of the City Council and the County Fiscal Court, Senator Jerry Rhoads and Representative Ben Waide for their support and assistance.