Fortune 500 Company Expands, Chooses Gwinnett County for Expansion
(GWINNETT- METRO ATLANTA) August 4, 2011 –RockTenn, in partnership with the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) and Gwinnett Chamber Economic Development, announced the consolidation of its Chicago and Metro St. Louis operations to Gwinnett County, Metro Atlanta. The company’s increased presence in Gwinnett will bring 500 new jobs to the community and represents five million dollars in capital investment for Gwinnett.
“We are grateful for the Governor’s leadership, the Mayor’s leadership and the hard work of their economic development teams to enable us to locate all these new jobs here in Georgia,” said Jim Rubright, Chairman and CEO of RockTenn. “Our continued growth in Georgia enables us to consolidate many of our corporate functions and focus on our primary objectives of providing superior paperboard and packaging solutions to our customers at very low costs, exceeding our customers’ expectations and creating long-term shareholder value. This expansion will help us continue to provide our employees with a great place to work.”
“RockTenn expanding its corporate headquarters here is big news - not only because 500 new jobs will be created, but also because this top Fortune 500 company has chosen Georgia as the best place to keep doing business for years to come,” said Governor Nathan Deal. “RockTenn currently employs more than 1,100 Georgians and helping to secure the future of those existing jobs with this investment is just as important as adding the new ones.”
“RockTenn’s choice to further expand its locally headquartered operations and continue to invest in Gwinnett County serves to solidify our community’s motto - success lives here,” said Gwinnett County Chairman Charlotte Nash.
RockTenn will lease approximately 68,000 square feet of space at their Duluth facility. Located at 3950 Shackleford Road, a Duke Realty Property, the building will house some of the new positions being created and some personnel will transfer from RockTenn’s Norcross corporate campus. All of the positions are professional service positions. Although not a Fortune 500 company this year, RockTenn’s acquisition will position them for the coveted corporate listing in 2012. This will make Gwinnett’s fourth Fortune 500 company to either expand or relocate in the last three years, behind AGCO, NCR and the relocation of Asbury Automotive’s headquarters from Manhattan in 2008.
“The announcement that RockTenn is continuing to keep its corporate headquarters in Norcross is the biggest news in the 140 year history of our city,” said Bucky Johnson, Mayor, City of Norcross. “On behalf of all of our citizens, I want to thank their Chief Executive Officer, Jim Rubright, for the decision to stay in Norcross. RockTenn is a great community partner and we celebrate this news.”
“RockTenn is a strong model of business growth and development in Gwinnett,” said Jim Maran, President & CEO of the Gwinnett Chamber. “The high-wage jobs it is bringing, coupled with the move’s contribution to a more balanced tax-base, represent a solid picture of increasing economic stability for Gwinnett and Georgia. We congratulate RockTenn and all of our economic development partners on this great achievement.”
RockTenn’s expansion in Gwinnett follows a series of job growth successes in Georgia’s leading community for job growth – according to preliminary reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Most of this growth can be attributed to the community’s award-winning economic development initiative, Partnership Gwinnett. Led by the Chamber and over 160 public and private investors, this initiative has attracted more than 12,000 new jobs in Gwinnett over the last five years. RockTenn’s announcement moves that number to just over 12,500.
Nick Masino, Vice President of Economic Development and Partnership Gwinnett said, “RockTenn’s decision to consolidate and expand its existing Gwinnett location speaks volumes about our community’s pro-business environment and strong economic climate. We congratulate them on this growth and thank all of our investors and partners who support Partnership Gwinnett every day to make projects like this one possible.”
Charlie Gatlin, Director of Economic and Community Development for Electric Cities of Georgia said, “RockTenn’s commitment to the City of Norcross and Gwinnett County reflects favorably on the local talented workforce in the shared services industry. Gwinnett’s economic development team is focused on industry recruitment and retention and this key retention was a proactive and collaborative effort that ECG was proud to be a part of.”
RockTenn (NYSE:RKT) is one of North America's leading integrated manufacturers of corrugated and consumer packaging and recycling solutions, with net sales of approximately $10 billion. RockTenn’s 26,000 employees are committed to exceeding their customer’s expectations – every time. The Company operates locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and China. For more information on the company’s operations, visit www.RockTenn.com and to learn how you can relocate your business to Gwinnett, visit www.successliveshere.com.
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