Jackson gets block grant to assist new box company

The state has approved a $175,000 request for a block grant to pay for paving an access road at Jackson South Industrial Park to help accommodate the new Signature Packaging plant. The plant will bring about 40 new jobs to the area and is expected to be operational after the first of the year.

The money will pay for designing and constructing 879 linear feet of 24-foot-wide roadway to connect Seabaugh Road and Dogwood, said Jackson city engineer Kent Peetz. Peetz said the project will turn a gravel road into a paved access road that all of the businesses at the industrial park could use. Other businesses in the park include American Railcar, Coca Cola and Midwest Sterilization.

The half-million-dollar 80,000-square-foot building for Signature Packaging and Paper is under construction at 1302 Lenco off Route PP. The company, as it does with its headquarters facility in Conyers, Ga., will support Procter & Gamble by manufacturing and providing boxes for its diaper line.

The building is expected to be completed by the end of December and equipment will be installed early next month, Vinson said. Operations are expected to start with 18 full-time employees at the end of January, he said.

"We're going to hire more employees as we need them. We're going to have to ramp up our business and hire as we go."

The company has hired about eight employees so far, Vinson said. They are undergoing training at the Georgia facility and at a similar facility in Tennessee. Signature has a relationship with Pratt Industries, which provides some of the raw materials -- such as corrugated sheets -- for Signature production. The employees are at Pratt Industries this week learning the box business, Vinson said.

"We've hired people who don't have any box experience whatsoever," he said. "So they're learning. It's 'Basic Box 101.' They're learning from the ground level up."

Vinson hopes to have about 40 employees after a year, he said.

Peetz said the newly paved street runs north and south on the west side of Signature's property. He said the state provides block-grant money to assist new businesses that provide jobs.

Peetz said work on the paving project should begin in the spring and be completed by summer.

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137