Silgan Containers Expanding In Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley

One of North America’s largest manufacturers of metal food packaging products will expand its operations into Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, creating 29 new jobs over the next three years. Silgan Containers, which produces steel and aluminum containers for human and pet food, is investing $15 million in a facility in Upper Macungie Township, which will enable the company to meet its growing East Coast customer requirements.

The project was coordinated by the Governor’s Action Team, the economic development arm of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration. Silgan Containers received a funding proposal from the DCED that includes a $120,000 Pennsylvania First grant, a $13,050 WEDnet grant for employee training, and $87,000 in Job Creation Tax Credits to be issued after the new jobs are created.

“From day one, I’ve made manufacturing one of the top business priorities of my administration by expanding workforce development programs, eliminating burdensome business taxes, and proactively working with manufacturers to help them grow and thrive right here in Pennsylvania,” said Gov. Wolf. “This project will bring 29 good-paying manufacturing jobs to Lehigh Valley workers and their families. I applaud Silgan Containers for choosing Pennsylvania as their new hub on the East Coast.”

The company also received assistance from the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC). High performance manufacturing and food & beverage processing have been identified as two of the four target sectors of the Lehigh Valley based on the site-specific characteristics of the regional economy.

“The Silgan Containers development in the Lehigh Valley is an example of the synergy of how manufacturing and product distribution grow together,” said Don Cunningham, LVEDC President and CEO. “Silgan and its product is an important part of the supply chain of Nestle Purina and other products being made and distributed from the Lehigh Valley. The region’s emergence as a major industrial and manufacturing in Pennsylvania continues to create more jobs here.”

The new project provides Silgan Containers a strategic location on the Interstate 78 corridor, giving it strong access to New York and New Jersey markets and a close proximity to Nestle Purina, the nation’s top pet care company, which has a facility in Upper Macungie Township.

The company’s $15 million investment will include the purchase of equipment and training for its employees. The project is in a Liberty Property Trust building that previously housed ULine, a distributor of shipping, industrial and packaging materials.

Silgan Containers is the leading supplier of metal food containers in the United States, with approximately half the U.S. market. It serves clients throughout North America from over a dozen strategically located manufacturing facilities around the country. In addition to containers for human and pet food, the company also produces metal, composite, plastic closures for food and beverage products, containers for personal care, health care, pharmaceutical, household, and industrial chemical, agricultural, automotive, and marine chemical products.

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