Advantageous growth for Ardagh in Huron

HURON — A manufacturing plant keeps building up its relatively new base in Huron, a key indicator signaling positive growth for the company and city. The past 12 months, in 2022, marked Ardagh Metal Packaging's first operational year in Huron after partially constructing its massive 340,000-square-foot factory on Sawmill Parkway, an industrial park off Rye Beach Road. Its blue-shaded structures can be seen by drivers on Ohio 2. In short, the company produces recycled materials, such as beverage cans. The "Ardagh Group is a global supplier of infinitely recyclable metal and glass packaging for the world's leading brands," according to a company statement. "Ardagh operates 56 metal and glass production facilities in 12 countries, employing more than 16,000 people with sales of $7 billion." More specifically, at the Huron plant, the facility produces "beverage cans in multiple sizes, plus ends, for a variety of beverage categories, including sparkling water, soft drinks, teas and alcoholic beverages," company spokeswoman Jennifer Cumbee said. "Output from the Huron plant is secured by long-term customer agreements," Cumbee said. In the past, Ardagh didn't divulge its customers to the Register when seeking clarification. Cumbee then explained why, in 2020, Ardagh first targeted Huron for expansion and then, in 2021, announced plans for a new facility on Sawmill Parkway. "The Huron location was decided based on regional beverage can demand, distance to customer filling locations, access to suppliers, distribution efficiencies, etc.," she said. "We are also excited to further build our employee base in Ohio, complementing our locations in Fremont and Whitehouse with talented, focused teams targeting customer quality and satisfaction." This past week, Ardagh's announced it's extending its product line by launching a new 19.2-ounce beverage can, which "will be produced at Ardagh Metal Packaging's new Huron, Ohio, manufacturing facility and will be available by the end of (winter 2023)," a release states. "The new can size, expected to serve strong growth in the single-serve channel, represents the first time a 19.2-ounce can has been manufactured in the U.S. by Ardagh Metal Packaging." Making sense of the dollars and cents Employment levels at Ardagh's Huron plant total at least 200, however, company executives didn't provide specific workforce levels. "We anticipate new jobs to be as previously announced at the more than 200 employee level," Cumbee said. "We will be matching employee levels to the capacity needs of the plant and, for the short term, this number (200) remains accurate." Meanwhile, Ardagh's investment in Huron totals at least $411 million, as local officials first revealed in 2021. Ardagh itself wouldn't comment on if the figure has increased since then but did offer the following general statement on its overall investment. "The new Ardagh Metal Packaging manufacturing plant in Huron represents part of our multi-year growth investment in new global beverage can capacity to serve customers," said Cumbee, noting "The full structure of the plant is not yet fully completed." When construction does wrap up in the near future, it's possible Ardagh could fill in some blanks on staffing levels, monetary investment and more. Speaking up A couple of company executives spoke highly of the Huron facility and how it fulfills Ardagh's mission: This project forms part of Ardagh's global business growth investment program and is being undertaken to meet fast-growing demand as consumers increasingly recognize the environmental and quality advantages of beverage cans. Our products deliver high recycle and content rates, which support customer sustainability targets and contribute to a circular economy. This latest expansion is indicative of Ardagh's consistent commitment to supporting customer growth — Claude Marbach, CEO of Ardagh Metal – Beverage North America This is the first entirely new plant we've sought to build in decades. The Huron site was chosen due to its proximity to growing regional beverage customers, and we're seeing an enthusiasm throughout our entire company to answer the call for demand for our infinitely recyclable beverage cans. It's very encouraging to see so many of our people contribute with their time, expertise and commitment to enable our plant to take its place among our industry-leading network of facilities. Our new Ardagh Metal Packaging Huron team is rising to each challenge, learning quickly and completing each stage of construction on time, on budget and with safety top of mind. This is a very exciting time for our people. We're a growing company in an attractive market. You can see it every day as we bring to life our values of trust, teamwork and excellence — and we'll succeed in answering the call for this demand, setting new standards of quality and customer satisfaction to retain this very positive future for our people, company and local communities. — Mike Grayson, Ardagh's Huron plant manager Additionally, a pair of area officials noted their appreciation for Ardagh in coming to Huron: In short order, Ardagh has become a pillar of our local business community. The company has transformed Sawmill Parkway, created significant employment opportunities and brought the latest in advanced manufacturing practices to our region. — Abbey Bemis, Erie County Economic Development Corp. executive director The investment and location of Ardagh in the city is Huron is so much more than their monetary investment in their facility. Yes, it is true that this is one of, if not, the largest single project investment in Erie County's history. However, the importance of Ardagh reaches beyond their walls. They are employing hundreds of individuals who then choose to spend or live in Huron or broader Erie County. Even more importantly, the company is already integrating within the community and finding ways to give back. They have provided employees to volunteer in citywide clean-ups and they recently have made contributions to Huron city schools for both educational and athletic improvements. I want to thank Ardagh so much for investing in Huron but more so than anything being a tremendous corporate partner. — Matt Lasko, Huron city manger Working out a deal Back in January 2022, Huron city council members approved a 15-year tax abatement agreement with the Ardagh Group to assist in its ongoing construction efforts. The abatement forgives 100% of all property taxes for new development for a 15-year period. It took into account the estimated $411 million investment. Before the deal came to fruition, for months, officials constantly continued dialogue with Ardagh representatives to hammer out this complex deal. Officials felt comfortable authorizing this arrangement based on several factors. Most notably, this includes making two impacted local school districts whole, as they would have lost out on a sizable amount of money otherwise. "Ardagh agreed to provide payment to Huron Schools and EHOVE Career Center for the amount of taxes they normally would have received if there wasn't an abatement in place," Lasko said. "In other words, Ardagh will make payments to the school districts for an amount equivalent had there not been an abatement at all." It's not known exactly what these payments could total today. Lasko further stressed the deal's importance. "For a community like ours, it's amazing to have all of this job creation, which will attract new residents to the region," he said. "Couple that with the fact that those new employees will be paying our city income tax certainly made it a worthwhile investment for the city to forgo our future real estate taxes for 15 years."