A plastic packaging company plans to expand its operations in Moore County by spending $7.4 million and adding 32 jobs in Aberdeen.
Reliance Packaging, which has operated in Aberdeen since 2014, extrudes plastic resin into printed heavy duty plastic bags and film for the lawn and garden market as well as many other outdoor applications.
In a joint venture with Sigma Plastic Group, Reliance extrudes, prints and converts, along with developing brands and graphic designs for high-quality products to hold mulch, soil and decorative lawn rock that are sold throughout various outlets, including Home Depot, Lowe’s and Walmart, across the United States.
This expansion includes building improvements and two additional multi-layer film extruders for the 180,000-square-foot manufacturing facility.
The company relocated from Florida to Aberdeen in 2014. Its facility, located at the corner of Anderson Street and N.C. 5, was previously used for similar manufacturing but had been empty for several years.
“The new investment will enable the use of Post Consumer Recycle as a major effort to support sustainability within our industry,” said Reliance Packaging President Satish Sharma in a statement. “Reliance Packaging already reprocesses between 10,000 to 20,000 pounds of waste plastic every day and the installation of this new technology and automation will facilitate higher quality products with an eco-friendly solution.”
New positions, including extruder operators, material handlers and quality control technicians, will have varying salaries, but altogether the average annual wage is $53,000.
The Moore County average is $51,824. These new jobs could potentially create an annual payroll benefit of more than $1.6 million.
A performance-based grant of $50,000 from the One North Carolina Fund will help facilitate Reliance’s expansion in North Carolina. The fund provides financial assistance to local governments to help attract economic investment and create jobs.
Companies receive no money upfront and must meet job creation and capital investment targets to qualify for payment. All grants require matching participation from local governments and any award is contingent upon that condition being met.