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Malnove, one of the nation’s largest independent folding carton producers, is expanding its North Jacksonville plant with 10 new jobs, an upgraded production line and growth to the facility’s capacity. The $7.4 million expansion will create 10 new advanced manufacturing jobs and achieves retaining the existing 182 jobs at the plant.

Established in 1948, Malnove manufactures packaging products for a variety of customers, primarily in the packaged foods industry. Its Jacksonville facility is one of three sites, with the others in Utah and Nebraska.

“This announcement further enhances our city’s reputation as a hub for advanced manufacturing, which will lead to even more opportunities for our citizens in the years ahead,” said Mayor Lenny Curry.

In the Jacksonville region, advanced manufacturing has seen significant growth over the last several years. Since January 2020, there have been nine company announcements in the industry that were considered new-to-market or an expansion of existing facilities and head count. The announcements have involved companies such as Eagle LNG; Collins Aerospace; Made In Space, a Redwire Space company; and others which plan to generate more than 700 jobs and nearly $715 million in private investment.

No doubt the region’s location is attractive to expansion given the confluence of Interstate, port, air and rail in what has been known as “America’s Logistics Center.” Jacksonville’s southeastern location, which sits at the Westernmost point on the East Coast, allows a same day reach of more than 94 million U.S. consumers.

“This expansion in Jacksonville is an important next step as we expand in the Southeast and is critical to the overall growth of our company,” said Dale Houck, President of Malnove. “We’ve had success hiring and developing highly-skilled employees in Jacksonville and look forward to continuing to grow here.”