SIOUX CITY -- WestRock has completed expansion of its corrugated box operations in Sioux City and has consolidated its two manufacturing plants into one.
The company's main plant at 2300 Bridgeport Drive is now operational with the completion of the expansion, reported previously to total $48 million. All manufacturing will be done at the Bridgeport plant, where the 82,000 square-foot addition was built.
WestRock's plant at 1540 Tri-View Ave. has been converted into a warehouse, said John Pensec, director of corporate communications.
For the company to remain competitive, new technology was to be installed at the Bridgeport plant to automate some job functions, according to documents filed with the city.
"This investment will allow WestRock to modernize our operations in Sioux City," a company news release issued prior to construction said. "We will be more competitive in the industry and retain as many jobs as possible in the local community once we improve our facility layout and update our equipment."
Without the modernization and consolidation project, the company likely would have relocated to another state, city officials have said.
In Sioux City, WestRock manufactures corrugated boxes for industries, many of them in food production, within a 200-mile radius of Sioux City.
WestRock, based in Atlanta, has 45,000 employees at more than 300 operating and business locations in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
