Georgia-Pacific (GP) has reinvested $2bn back into its business and operations in 2023 – including launching and completing new facilities and enhancing existing operations – and confirming its focus on growing its premium tissue business.
In Green Bay, Wisconsin, $550m has been invested in the company’s Brawny project, which started in July 2022 and is expected to be completed in 2024.
The company said the investment will “significantly enhance its retail consumer towel business” and expand the facility by adding approximately 600,000 square feet.
It includes the installation of a new Valmet-supplied TAD paper machine, which will produce thousands of tons of paper that will be converted into Brawny paper towels and other premium private-label brands.
The Green Bay Broadway mill currently operates seven paper machines and several converting operations to make bath tissue, paper towels, napkins, and facial tissue for retail and AfH.
Christian Fischer, GP President and Chief Executive, said: “This truly is an investment in our customers and consumers who value the quality of our products.”
In December, GP also announced a $150m investment in its Halsey, Oregon, facility.
This will increase production capacity for high quality bath tissue, including Quilted Northern Ultra Plush and private label tissue.
By the end of this project, the company will have invested more than $200m in the Halsey mill since 2022.
Vivek Joshi, President of the retail tissue, towel, and napkin business for GP, said: “It is a clear indication of our focus on growing our premium tissue business and creating products that consumers value.”
Other investments by the business include in Jackson, Tennessee, where GP broke ground on the $425m facility in December 2022.
The company said the state-of-the-art facility will “significantly increase the supply of disposable tableware products—namely, plates and bowls—in the marketplace, while supporting the Livingware and GP PRO business segments.”
In Pineland, Texas, GP said is now the largest sawmill in the South, and is positioned as a major competitor in the forest products industry because of its $120m investment at the plant.
A $91m upgrade has also been carried out at GP’s containerboard mill in Monticello, Mississippi.
