Remington extruder ramps up production
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Remington-based AmTopp has begun production of a stretch film extrusion line and will begin operations on a second line in the coming weeks. Stretch film is made from polyethylene and is used to wrap pallets of products during shipping and storage. As part of a $20 million investment, the company is boosting production and adding 20 employees to its current staff of approximately 40 at the Jasper County facility.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, AmTopp Assistant General Manager Scott Stevens said increased demand mirrors the pandemic.
“If you’re shipping any kind of materials on a pallet, you’re wrapping it with stretch film. The Amazons, the Walmart of the worlds, the FedEx of the world you’re delivering these products,” said Stevens. “People stopped going to stores, so they just did more shipping.”
Stevens says the industry has seen three-to-four percent annual growth. Stevens says some of AmTopp’s clients include some of the biggest names in retail, including Walmart, Home Depot and Anheuser-Busch.
Once fully operational, the plant will produce 60 million pounds of its polyethylene wrap annually. To put that into perspective, Stevens says the average pallet uses five ounces of wrap.
Inteplast operates similar plants in Texas, North Carolina and Arizona. This facility will serve its growing list of Midwest clients.
“We look forward to serving the Northeast and Midwest territories and other regions as needed, while we continue to expand our sales in this region,” said Assistant Plant Manager Scott King.
Owned by New Jersey-based Inteplast, AmTopp’s Remington facility has been in operations for about two years, producing materials from pre-existing stretched film shipped in from other Inteplast facilities. But Stevens says the addition of the two extrusion lines takes production to a whole new level.