MonoSol Breaks Ground on New Facility
- Published: July 31, 2014
MERRILLVILLE, IN | MonoSol, a Kuraray company and supplier of water-soluble delivery systems, has broken ground for a new high-tech production facility, Duneland Site, in Portage, IN, at Ameriplex at the Port. Portage mayor James E. Snyder was joined at a groundbreaking ceremony by P. Scott Bening, MonoSol CEO and division head/Kuraray WS Film Division, and Keiji Murakami, director/primary executive of the Vinyl Acetate Company of Kuraray, and several other MonoSol staff members and dignitaries from the City of Portage and the State of Indiana.
The new production facility will feed the growing global demand for all water-soluble film products, as MonoSol takes a large integration step as the core of the Kuraray WS Film Division. It will be constructed in three phases, with the first phase scheduled to be operational in late 2016, generating an approximate 15% capacity increase over company’s current global production levels. The final phase will be complete by the end of 2020. When fully operational, the plant reportedly will create at least 150 new jobs. Hiring will commence mid-2015 for the 2016 opening.
Bening says, “We examined locations on multiple continents for this expansion. Portage was chosen over several European locations and other North American locations in Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Our roots, natural resource availability, workforce confidence, relationships with service providers, and the support from the State of Indiana and City of Portage tipped the scales. Mayor Snyder and his team did a great job coordinating the necessary supporters. The State stepped up and assisted with a competitive incentive package as well. We are blessed with a great team of people who started in Portage in 1953, expanded to LaPorte, Indiana, and to Europe and now find cause to build even more back in Portage.…”
Says Mayor Snyder. “We truly believe this company represents the very essence of what Portage strives to bring its residents in terms of new job opportunities….,” adding, “CEO Bening and the MonoSol team are committed to participating in our youth training program in Portage schools, and this project will be instrumental in helping them find quality employees and our students finding quality jobs that will keep some of our finest in Portage.”
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