By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Mannington Mills coming to Covington
berry

For the "Berry Plastics to close" article click here.

Since 2012, when the plant closed its doors for good, the buildings at 9172 Industrial Dr., N.E., formerly Berry Plastics, have been slowly deteriorating.

That’s about to change. Dave Bernd, Vice President of Economic Development for the Covington/Newton County Chamber of Commerce announced two local Atlanta real estate developers had purchased the property and will be hiring local contractors to help renovate the 326,000-square foot-building and would be hiring local contractors to help renovate the property.

Phillip Hight of Hight Property Group and his partner Price Muir of WPM Commercial, Inc. purchased the site and have leased two-thirds of the main building’s space to Mannington Mills. The flooring company will use the Covington facility for storage and distribution.

“When we first walked up to the building, we saw there was deferred maintenance,” said Hight, “but once we walked in, we could see the potential.”

Hight said the property’s location on 39-acres off the I-20 corridor, served by an onsite rail system, was ideal for manufacturing and industry. Properties suitable for large manufacturing or industrial businesses are scarce, he said, adding that he and his partner are actively looking for more property in the Covington area for development.

The plant was built in 1967, and was recently purchased by an investment firm, which in turn prepared it for Mannington Mills, which is also opening a manufacturing plant in Madison.

The building features several loading docks, access to I-20 and has railway on premises. The building is also the only 100,000 square feet space available in Newton County.

Berry purchased its Covington plant in 2007 to serve as a strategic location in the Southeast. The Covington plant previously produced industrial trash liners and bags as well as plastic stretch film, like the film used to wrap large packages. Large corporations, including Con Agra, Kraft and Wal-Mart, use products made in Covington.

Berry Plastics roduced around 100 million pounds of film per year as of May 2010, according to a previous article in The News. The company employed just fewer than 200 workers at that time.

Production from the Covington facility was transferred to Berry facilities in Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Belleville, Ontario in 2012.

The plant was previously owned by Mobil Oil Corporation, which located in 1967. Mobil's facilities were eventually split between Berry and Pactiv Corporation.

For more on this story see Sunday's print edition of The Covington News.