In a time when many local factories are closed and facing financial hardships because of COVID-19, one local manufacturer is finding itself in the unique position of needing to expand.
Silgan Plastics plans to construct a $15 million 204,000-square-foot addition to serve as a new warehouse facility for the company’s Seymour facility at 3799 N. County Road 850E.
The Seymour Plan Commission held a special meeting Tuesday via GoToMeeting and voted 8-0-1 to approve a development plan for the project proposed by Tarr Group LLC.
Commissioner Bernie Hauersperger abstained from voting because of his employment with project engineers FPBH Inc. Absent from the meeting were commissioners Mark Hays and Bret Cunningham.
The board also agreed to rezone the nearly 23 acres of property where the warehouse will be built along the rail spur to the north of the existing Silgan plant from C-1, commercial zoning, to I-2, industrial zoning.
The Seymour City Council will vote on the rezone request at its regular meeting Monday.
Silgan produces plastic bottles, jars and closures along with custom molding packaging for use in the health care, food, personal care and household, industrial and automotive markets.
“The project is associated with a desired expansion of operations at the Silgan plant,” said Dylan Tarr with Tarr Group.
Although the expansion is primarily for warehouse purposes, it also lends itself to potential expansion of production, he said.
After having conversations with the city, Tarr said it was decided zoning should be the same across the entire Silgan campus.
Silgan plans to connect the new warehouse to the existing plant building with a couple of corridors so the operations can be integral, Tarr said.
Since shutdowns related to COVID-19 began in March, Silgan has remained open due to increased demand for plastic bottles for medicines, hand sanitizers and soap dispensers.
In February, the company received approval from the city council on planned investment of nearly $5 million in new manufacturing equipment. That project began last month and is supposed to wrap up by the end of May.
Silgan employs more than 200 workers and is the seventh largest industrial employer and 14th overall in Jackson County, according to Jackson County Industrial Development Corp.