May 14, 2015
Local and state officials, along with Fort Smith Dixie employees celebrated the successful completion and startup of the plant’s state-of-the-art plate printer with a ceremonial ribbon cutting Wednesday. The printer is part of a $40 million plate expansion project that was announced last spring.
“This printer improves our long-term competitiveness in plate manufacturing and helps meet the growing demands of our consumers and customers,” said Tim Ellsworth, plant director. “It is the result of successful collaboration within our plant and our union leaders, as well as support from the mayor, the chamber and local and state economic development agencies.”
The printer investment in Fort Smith was part of more than $100 million of planned investments at other Georgia-Pacific facilities across the state in 2014. Since 2006, Georgia-Pacific has invested more than $820 million dollars in Arkansas. Georgia-Pacific directly employs 2,400 throughout the state with wages and benefits for employees totaling $205 million.