According to flexpack.org, at a news conference held at the Madisonville/Hopkins County Economic Development Corporation, Berry Plastics Group, Inc. together with Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear, announces that the company will reopen its Madisonville, Kentucky, manufacturing facility to increase its production capacity.

"I am very pleased to announce that we will soon begin reconfiguring our Madisonville, Kentucky, facility which is slated to begin production in 2013," says Jon Rich, chairman and CEO of Berry Plastics. "We are extremely appreciative of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Hopkins County officials, and the city of Madisonville for their joint support of this initiative, which will allow us to reopen the facility, creating the opportunity for new jobs within the region and specifically the Madisonville community."

"This is a tremendous day for the Commonwealth, Madisonville, and Berry Plastics, with more than 400 jobs being created and a significant capital investment being made," says Gov. Beshear. "Today's announcement is a demonstration that Berry Plastics continues to build on its growth as a leading global manufacturer in its field."

Berry acquired the Madisonville (Hopkins County) facility during its acquisition of Rexam's specialty and beverage closures business in August 2011. Earlier this year, the Company shuttered the facility, as a result of the redistribution of production to its other rigid closed top manufacturing facilities. The facility had employed approximately 140. Berry announced today that it will convert the facility to manufacture rigid open top products.

To encourage the investment and job creation in Madisonville, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $10 million through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the term of the agreement through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.

Over the next few years, Berry will ramp up employment at the facility to reach a targeted employment level of 400. In early 2013, the Company will begin accepting applications for these positions which are expected to be filled predominately by residents of Kentucky.

KEDFA also approved Berry Plastics for tax benefits up to $450,000 through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act, which allows approved companies to recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures, equipment used in research and development and electronic processing equipment.

Kent Mills, Chairman of the Madisonville/Hopkins County Economic Development Corporation, says that the MHCEDC has worked with the company for several months on the selection of Madisonville/Hopkins County for this significant new project. He states, "This new Berry Plastics production facility represents one of the largest projects ever announced in Madisonville and Hopkins County. We look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with the company and will work closely as a partner to realize success for the company and community."


Berry Plastics Inc.

www.berryplastics.com