DAYTON–Plastilene announced plans to establish a research and development center in Washington Court House to focus on the development of recyclable food packaging that will help food producers reduce their carbon footprint and environmental impact.
“Plastilene’s business culture and philosophy is you invest for the long-term and seek to bring innovative solutions to your customers,” said Guillermo Umana, Plastilene’s General Manager. “We’re excited to work with leaders in our industry to help Ohio’s food producers deliver fresh products in a sustainable way.”
The Plastilene Group is a global leader in the development and production of high-quality, responsible packaging for a variety of foods, beverages, pharmaceutical products, medical devices, home and personal care products and more. Plastilene has existing operations in Colombia, Ecuador and Guatemala. Plastilene has four specialty focus areas in Packaging and Technical film, Industrial Products, Film for Agro-Industry, and Film Products with Recycled Materials.
The Sustainable Food Packaging Innovation Center will be located at the Rocktenn building,1010 Mead Street, and will be the company’s first U.S. operation. The $47-million facility will create 58 new jobs and $3.8 million in new payroll.
“Washington Court House is a natural fit for Plastilene,” said Joe Denen, City Manager. “Not only are they joining a community with a strong manufacturing tradition, but our companies represent the type of businesses that can benefit from the work of Plastilene’s Innovation Center. We’re excited to help them establish operations here in Ohio.”
Plastilene’s facility will conduct research as well as produce food packaging. Food and agribusiness is the largest industry in Ohio, and the state is home to hundreds of companies that cultivate, process, package, distribute and market food and drinks enjoyed by consumers around the world.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Plastilene to the Dayton Region and help them further develop their North American market,” said Julie Sullivan, the Dayton Development Coalition’s Executive Vice President for Regional Development. “Their new facility will leverage so many of our strengths, bringing together skilled manufacturing and R&D, to tackle important issues in a meaningful way.”
The Sustainable Food Packaging Innovation Center will focus on the development and high-volume commercialization of game-changing recyclable food packaging. The research will seek to increase circularity, capture after-use material value, reduce leakage into natural streams, reduce fossil feedstock usage, and enhance sustainable economics, carbon footprint reduction and performance targets for multiple Ohio & National food industry companies.
“Plastilene’s R&D Center in Washington Court House will establish its first U.S. operations, combining Ohio’s leading role in advancing plastics technology with a global leader in sustainable packaging,” said JobsOhio President and CEO J.P. Nauseef. “With Ohio’s talent and collaborative innovation, Plastilene will continue to develop disruptive, sustainable packaging technology for foods, pharmaceuticals and other product sectors that positively impact our lives every day.”
The Dayton Development Coalition (DDC) is the leading economic development organization for the 14-county Dayton Region. Working closely with public and private regional partners, its mission is to recruit, expand, and retain jobs. Dayton ranked as the nation’s top metro for economic development in 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2019 runner-up in 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, and 2018, and has been in the top 10 for 15 consecutive years. With the State’s largest single-site employer in its backyard, the DDC is also focused on advocating for the critical missions at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and supporting the work of the United States Air Force and Space Force. The DDC and the State of Ohio were ranked as America’s top military community, being honored with the 2015 Community Excellence Award from the Association of Defense Communities, and were designated an ADC Great American Defense Community in 2016 – a testament to the collaborative efforts in support of Wright-Patt, America’s #1 Air Force Base as ranked by the Air Force Times (2014). Learn more at www.daytonregion.com.
JobsOhio is a private nonprofit economic development corporation designed to drive job creation and new capital investment in Ohio through business attraction, retention and expansion. The organization also works to seed talent production in its targeted industries and to attract talent to Ohio through Find Your Ohio. JobsOhio works with six regional partners across Ohio: Dayton Development Coalition, Ohio Southeast Economic Development, One Columbus, REDI Cincinnati, Regional Growth Partnership and Team NEO. Learn more at www.jobsohio.com.
