Ring Container Technologies of Tennessee plans to open a new plastic bottle manufacturing plant near Hagerstown.

“We are going to make HDPE (high-density polyethylene) plastic bottles for food packaging. … We’re looking at the end of the second quarter, beginning of the third quarter” to be up and running, said Holly K. Combs, the plant manager.

An existing building at 16522 Hunters Green Parkway off Hopewell Road north of Interstate 70 is being revamped for the company’s use. The site is near distribution centers for Lenox and Staples.

Combs said it will be Ring’s 18th manufacturing plant.

Ring Container Technologies is a multinational corporation with headquarters in Oakland, Tenn. It focuses on “finding sustainable solutions for the consumer packaging industry” and is one of the largest plastic container manufacturers in North America, according to Combs.

Initially, the plant will employ 18 people, she said.

Brian Smith, the vice president of business development and innovation for the company, said the site was chosen because it’s close to major highways and a Ring customer in Chambersburg, Pa. It is not economical to ship empty containers long distances, he said.

Combs and Smith also pointed to future opportunities for the company in the region. They said the move is part of the company’s overall plan for continued, strategic growth nationwide.

According to a Washington County building permit, plans have been approved for a 78,517-square-foot project. The work will include include two mechanical rooms, offices, a break room, an employee locker room, restrooms, a shop area, a parts area, a warehouse/production area, a shipping office, an IT room, a drivers’ lobby, a pump room, a new chiller and two new silos to the left side of building.

Combs said plastic resin will come to the plant as pellets and be stored in the silos.

“It will come up in tanker trucks,” she said.

Company officials expect that the plant will operate three shifts.

“We’re excited to be in the area,” Combs said.

The company has applied to be included under the More Jobs for Marylanders Act. Washington County holds “Tier 1” status in that measure.

Tier 1 status entitles manufacturers that locate in these jurisdictions to maximum economic development benefits if they create at least five qualified positions in that jurisdiction and offer an approved, ongoing training or postsecondary education program. Depending on whether the applicant is new or existing, those benefits can include:

• A 10-year income-tax credit for up to 5.75 percent of the total wages paid per qualified employee

• A sales-tax refund

• A state property-tax credit

• No corporate filing fees

“We believe that opening a new plant in this area is a great opportunity not only for our company, but also for our customers and the Hagerstown community as a whole,” Combs wrote in an email. “That’s one of the many reasons we got involved in the More Jobs for Marylanders Act.”

Ring also plans to open another facility in Louisville, Kentucky, this year.

This article was originally published in Herald-Mail Media.