Polyplex USA will invest more than $90.6 million to expand production of its specialized polyester film plant in Decatur, creating 100 jobs.
The company plans to add a second Biaxially Oriented Polyethylene Terephthalate (BOPET) film line, with an additional investment to create matching capacity for captive resin. BOPET is used in packaging, electrical and other industrial applications.
“We are eager to leverage our existing operations, our strong ties to our customers, to our communities and of course to the expertise of our operations team as evidenced by our successful expansion in other locations,” said Amit Kalra, president of Polyplex USA. “We have a well-established sales and distribution system and hope to continue to provide additional value to our customers with a cost effective, faster turnaround and increased reliability of supplies.”
Once the expansion is complete, the Decatur facility will have the largest capacity BOPET film line in the world.
Construction on the expansion is scheduled for the first half of this year with production expected to begin by the end of this year.
“Polyplex is making a significant investment in its Morgan County facility and solidifying its presence there with 100 new jobs,” said Gov. Kay Ivey. “We look forward to seeing this company grow in Sweet Home Alabama.”
Kalra said the expansion will tap into the growing shift toward local supply in regional markets, as well as making Polyplex USA’s cost structure more efficient with a two-line configuration, metallizing and captive resin manufacturing.
Polyplex was started in India in 1984 and moved into the United States with a facility in Texas in 1996. From there it expanded, setting up a PET film line and a PET resin line in Decatur in July 2014. In a separate move, the company acquired Vacumet Corp. in 2012, which expanded the company into metallized product offerings. The metallized products were merged into Polyplex USA LLC, Alabama.
Prior to this expansion, the Decatur manufacturing facility has the capacity of 81,000 tons per annum of PET film, 86,000 tons per annum of PET resin and 9,250 tons per annum of metallized film.
The expansion was supported by the State of Alabama, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the City of Decatur, the Morgan County Commission and other local officials.
