BATTLE CREEK, MI — Graphic Packaging International (GPI) has announced it will close its recycled paperboard mill in Battle Creek.
About 200 employees will be impacted by the closure, GPI said.
“We did not make this decision lightly,” the company said in a statement, shared with MLive. “We recognize plant closures are very difficult for all involved, and we are committed to assisting our affected employees over the coming months.”
The decision was based on the overall industry supply and demand and follows the start up of the company’s new K2 machine in Kalamazoo, where the company invested $600 million to modernize and consolidate operations.
The Battle Creek property will likely be sold for future commercial use, GPI said.
Battle Creek Mayor Mark Behnke told MLive he received a call from a Graphic Packaging executive to tell him updated details of the plant closure.
“He dropped the bomb that they’re going to close the plan a little bit earlier than they thought,” Behnke said. “He once told us it was going to be in 2023.”
It wasn’t good news to hear, the mayor said. He is concerned about the future of the site.
“Once they get those machines out of there, and find someone that will buy it and commit to cleaning it up, which they probably won’t, so the city is going to have to be on whoever it is that inherits that to somehow take care of it,” Behnke said.
Paper has been produced at the site for over 100 years, he said.
“They will not sell it to a competitor or another paper manufacturer,” Behnke said.
The Battle Creek mayor said he is glad Kalamazoo got the new factory, though he noted some related issues have become a hot potato for the neighboring city.
He pointed to Kalamazoo’s approval of a tax abatement for the expansion, which the state sent back because of contingencies the city put on the abatement that were not permitted. He also pointed to concerns around a distinct odor in neighborhoods near Kalamazoo plant.
A company spokesperson told MLive in 2019 there are close to 200 employees at the Battle Creek mill.
The company said it expects the closure of the Battle Creek mill will be complete by the end of August. Battle Creek employees are eligible to apply for other positions at Graphic Packaging, the company said, and it will also provide outplacement services.
When asked about severance packages for employees, GPI said it acknowledges and appreciates the work by its team in Battle Creek.
“They have been part of our company’s success and growth, and they deserve our respect and assistance,” the company said. “To that end, we will be providing outplacement services and holding job fairs in the near future.”
Graphic Packaging is now putting its focus on the expanded mill in Kalamazoo.
“We announced plans in 2019 to invest $600 million to build a new, state-of-the-art, recycled paperboard machine in Kalamazoo,” the company said. “That machine began producing paperboard for our customers earlier this month.”
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