Pratt Corrugated Holdings will spend $97.6 million on its first Iowa manufacturing facility, the largest of eight North American packaging plant investments and openings announced in recent weeks across the Midwest and Southeast.

Pratt's project in Bondurant, Iowa, includes more than $80 million in manufacturing equipment and carries $1.8 million in state tax credits, according to the Iowa Economic Development Authority, whose board approved assistance to six manufacturers and two startups on Sept. 18. The company expects the facility to create 105 jobs.

Amcor's flexibles business is also expanding in Iowa. The company plans a $44.6 million corporate investment at its Centerville facility, backed by $2 million in tax credits from the state's business incentives for growth program. Amcor will add machinery and equipment to boost production capacity for advanced, multilayer packaging films, creating 24 jobs.

O-I Glass is modernizing its Muskogee, Oklahoma, production site. "The multi-million dollar multi-phase capital investment will modernize aging infrastructure, including glass-melting furnaces, production equipment, control systems, and safety technology—improving operational efficiency and ensuring continued environmental and regulatory compliance," according to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. O-I received a $2 million award through the department's Business Expansion Incentive Program.

JBM Packaging opened a 52,500-square-foot facility in Lebanon, Ohio, near its headquarters, with 50 new employees. The company called the building "the new home for JBM's growing contract packaging, kitting and filling services." The move also frees up space at headquarters for new paper-packaging equipment and production growth.

Several companies targeted the Southeast. Cirkla, a molded fiber specialist, plans to launch a U.S. manufacturing facility in Gainesville, Georgia, in the first quarter of 2027 to serve meat customers. The company describes it as the first U.S. facility dedicated to scaling molded fiber meat packaging and expects it to create around 100 jobs.

Sabert opened a 300,000-square-foot distribution center in Locust Grove, Georgia, its fifth such facility in the U.S. The company said the site will help support growing customer demand throughout the Southeast.

Crawford Packaging opened a new facility in Auburndale, Florida. "The Central Florida location was strategically selected in part to support the company's growing produce packaging business and provide enhanced service to one of North America's most important agricultural regions," the company said.

Supremex rounds out the list with a $4 million investment to enhance folding carton and e-commerce packaging operations in Illinois and Indiana. At an Indianapolis packaging facility, the company is adding a six-color offset press with in-line UV coating capability to expand the packaging grades, formats and finishes it produces in-house. At a Chicago envelope facility, Supremex is relocating and upgrading a printing press, and at a Naperville, Illinois, site it is adding e-commerce packaging capacity.

The cluster of projects extends a pattern of packaging companies targeting the Southeast and Midwest for capacity growth, adding production closer to agricultural regions and customer demand centers.