Ball reveals its big plans
♦ The result of the expansion will add more than 140 jobs to the local economy.
Ball Packaging revealed plans for another expansion of its Floyd County plant Wednesday afternoon. The company plans to invest $217.8 million in a free-standing 250,000-squarefoot addition to the compound at Ball Drive just off Ga. 53 and West Hermitage Road.
The work will take place on a 25-acre parcel located between the existing plant and West Hermitage Road. The project will be completed in two phases.
Ball has committed to adding a minimum of 145 full-time jobs over five years associated with the project. The company has agreed to pay no less than $11.50 an hour to the new hires.
”We are so very honored and excited that the Ball Corp. has chosen to reinvest in our community,” said Jimmy Byars, chairman of the Rome-floyd County Development Authority. “This just underscores how important our existing industries are to our economy.”
”This is a great day for Rome and Floyd County and the Rome Floyd Chamber of Commerce,” said Elaine Abercrombie, chair of the Rome
Floyd Chamber. “This is a result of strong partnerships working together for Rome and Floyd County.”
The new plant will make aluminum cups and serve the demand for innovative, sustainable beverage packaging in the U.S. market, said John A. Hayes, chairman, president and CEO of Ball.
Renee Robinson, director of corporate communications for Ball, said, “Just like aluminum cans and bottles, they are infinitely recyclable. In addition to its sustainability and recycling strengths, the aluminum cup is sturdy, durable (and) cool to the touch.”
The aluminum cups also can be customized with logos and graphics.
Missy Kendrick, president of the Rome-floyd County Development Authority, said Rome won out over other sites in Indiana and Ohio.
Earlier this year Ball entered into an agreement with the Joint Floyd-gordon Development Authority to acquire close to 60 acres behind their existing plant, a deal that is still in the due diligence stage.
All of this comes on the heels of an expansion that was initiated in April of 2016, when Ball started a $50 million addition to the plant to produce a new line of Alumi-tek beverage containers. At that time $8 million was earmarked for construction and $42 set aside for the new technology and equipment. That expansion was expected to take the Ball local workforce to around 225.
The incentive plan for the new development includes two, 12-year Payment in Lieu of Taxes arrangements. The second phase of the work is
expected to begin two years after the first phase, meaning the PILOT fees will be paid over a total of 14 years. Years one through three of each phase of the project will get a 100% tax break; four through six will be a 75% reduction; seven through nine will be a 50% abatement and in years 10 through 12 the company will get a 25% tax break.
The PILOT fees will be $184,250 a year for the Phase One 12-year period and an additional $88,000 annually for the second 12-year period.
The plant in Floyd County was originally constructed in 1993, owned at that time by Metal Container Corp., a subsidiary of Anheuser-busch. A year after Belgian brewing giant Inbev acquired A-B, it spun off the local plant along with canneries in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, and Columbus, Ohio, and a big lid plant in Gainesville, Florida, to Ball in 2009.