PA: Silgan Containers to Invest $15M, Create 29 Lehigh Valley Mfg Jobs

Governor Tom Wolf announced that Silgan Containers, LLC, a manufacturer of steel and aluminum containers for human and pet food, will expand their operations into Pennsylvania and create 29 new manufacturing jobs in Upper Macungie Township, Lehigh County.

“From day one, I’ve made manufacturing one of the top business priorities of my administration by expanding workforce development programs, eliminating burdensome business taxes, and proactively working with manufacturers to help them grow and thrive right here in Pennsylvania,” Governor Wolf said. “This project will bring 29 good-paying manufacturing jobs to Lehigh Valley workers and their families. I applaud Silgan Containers for choosing Pennsylvania as their new hub on the east coast.”

Silgan Containers is expanding into a facility that will enable it to meet its growing east coast customer requirements. The company is investing $15 million into the project, which will include the purchase of equipment and the training of its employees. The project will create 29 new jobs over the next three years.

Silgan Containers received a funding proposal from the Department of Community and Economic Development that includes a $120,000 Pennsylvania First grant, a $13,050 WEDnet grant for employee training, and $87,000 in Job Creation Tax Credits to be issued after the new jobs are created.

The project was coordinated by the Governor’s Action Team, an experienced group of economic development professionals who report directly to the governor and work with businesses that are considering locating or expanding in Pennsylvania, with assistance from the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC).

“The Silgan Containers development in the Lehigh Valley is an example of the synergy of how manufacturing and product distribution grow together,” said Don Cunningham, president and CEO of LVEDC. “Silgan and its product is an important part of the supply chain of Nestle Purina and other products being made and distributed from the Lehigh Valley. The region’s emergence as a major industrial and manufacturing in Pennsylvania continues to create more jobs here.”

Silgan Containers officially became a company in 1987, acquiring its first can operation from Carnation Company. Besides producing containers for human and pet food, it also produces metal, composite, and plastic closures for food and beverage products, containers for personal care, health care, pharmaceutical, household, and industrial chemical, agricultural, automotive, and marine chemical products.