A huge converting and logistics facility will be built in Ouachita Parish near Ouachita High School and the now vacant Guide Plant. The facility will house Graphic Packaging’s Carton Folding Plant and DHL’s Logistics and Distribution Operation. The 1.27 million square foot facility will be bigger than the Louisiana Superdome.
DHL will construct the building and the adjoining distribution center. The total construction investment for the new Monroe facility will be over $84 million.
A total of $274 million will be invested in the north Louisiana expansion. The partners will create 93 new jobs and retain over 800 jobs for the area. Graphic Packaging will move operations from two West Monroe carton plants to the new facility. The company will also invest $120 million in its West Monroe paper mill.
For decades, Graphic Packaging has been a backbone of the West Monroe community and a leading economic driver for Northeast Louisiana,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said. “With this modernization and expansion announcement, we are securing the future of Graphic Packaging in Louisiana for generations to come while attracting an invaluable logistics partner in DHL. The massive new facility in Monroe will combine Graphic Packaging’s skill as a global paperboard and folding carton producer with DHL’s expertise as a global logistics leader. Everyone in Louisiana will benefit from these investments, and the families of Ouachita Parish and Northeast Louisiana will be the biggest beneficiaries.”
The 726 acre site was attractive to business due to proximity to Interstate 20, The Monroe Regional Airport and KCS Rail.
DHL will complete the new logistics center by the second half of 2018, with Graphic Packaging consolidating the production of its two West Monroe carton plants into the new combined converting facility in 2019.
