Industrial packaging supplier Greif is permanently closing a facility in Rock Hill, South Carolina, according to a notice filed with the state, which the Charlotte Business Journal reported Tuesday.
The facility, which is used to manufacture fiber tubes and cores, is part of subsidiary Caraustar, which Greif acquired in 2019.
The closure is expected to happen sometime between Sept. 3 and Oct. 30. It’s part of Greif’s “network optimization process,” according to a spokesperson for the Ohio-based company, a trend among some packaging companies looking to close less efficient facilities and consolidate operations.
The Rock Hill facility’s capacity will be shifted to facilities in Taylors and Johnsonville, South Carolina; Kernersville and Welcome, North Carolina; and in Austell, Georgia. The Rock Hill facility currently employs approximately 90 people, according to the spokesperson. Greif is currently working to place those employees at one of those facilities or other facilities in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area, which is just across the state line from Rock Hill.
The Taylors facility is part of a notable Greif investment, with the company announcing last year it would invest $13 million over five years to expand operations in Greenville County. The goal was to modernize the facility and increase capacity for producing spiral tubes and cores using recycled paperboard.
Another major paper packaging company is also closing a site in South Carolina. WestRock announced this spring it plans to close a paper mill in North Charleston come Aug. 31 that employs about 500 workers.
