Area Development
Pratt Industries, a Melbourne, Australia-based manufacturer of paper and packaging products, will open a mill facility at the Port of Shreveport-Bossier in the northwestern region of Louisiana. The $150 million investment is expected to add 150 new jobs upon opening in December 2008. According to company officials, the mill will recycle old corrugated containers and paper waste from large cities as the raw material for new, 100 percent recycled container boxes. The plant will consume 280,000 tons per year of mixed waste and 150,000 tons of old containers. Pratt Industries has 43 other locations in the United States.