Amcor Plans PET Bottle Production at Method’s New Facility in Pullman Park

By Ioana Neamt, Associate Editor

Method manufacturing plant

Melbourne-based Amcor Rigid Plastics, a leading supplier of plastic packaging for the food, beverage, pharmaceutical and homecare industries recently announced plans to operate an on-site bottle production facility at one of Chicago’s most innovative industrial developments, Method’s new manufacturing plant in Pullman Park.

Method, a San Francisco-based multinational corporation and a subsidiary of Belgium-based Ecover, the world’s largest green cleaner manufacturer will open its first manufacturing facility in Chicago’s South Side neighborhood in 2015. Located at the intersection of East 11^th St. and South Doty Ave. in Pullman Park, the $30 million facility broke ground back in March, with plans to become the world’s first LEED Platinum certified facility in the consumer packaged goods industry. The William McDonough + Partners-designed plant will be one of only two LEED Platinum certified factories to date, the first one being Volkswagen’s Chattanooga Assembly Plant in Tennessee completed in 2011.

“Building a world-class manufacturing plant is pivotal for us as a leader in innovative and sustainable products and the support from the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois have been integral in our consideration,” Drew Frase, Method CEO said in news release last year.

According to Forbes magazine, Method’s new 150,000-square-foot facility will include a refurbished 600 kilowatt, 230-foot wind turbine and solar panels on the building’s roof and in the parking lot, intended to provide about 50 percent of the plant’s electrical power. The cutting-edge manufacturing facility will also feature rooftop greenhouses and 17 acres dedicated to native land renewal, as well as Cradle-to-Cradle certified construction materials which can be used as raw materials for other purposes at the end of their lifespan. GreenBiz also reports that, as most LEED-certified buildings today, Method’s plant will be built to serve pedestrians, offering easy access to mass transit.

A group of 20-30 Amcor employees will operate at the new Method plant, manufacturing 100 percent PCR polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles for consumer cleaning products, Plastics Today reports.  Amcor officials claim that on-site production of PCR bottles can reduce the package’s carbon footprint by 57 percent, and leads to a significant decrease in freight costs, carbon emissions and packaging costs. Method’s first U.S. development will also bring about 100 jobs to Chicago’s South Side, an ill-reputed area of the city where Pullman railroad cars used to be built.

“I am thrilled Method has chosen the Pullman neighborhood for their new facility,” said 9^th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale in a news release back in 2013. “Pullman is currently undergoing a process of restoration; Method’s arrival will certainly continue the neighborhood’s revival, spurring economic growth as their facility becomes an engine of development and a community attraction.”

The plant is slated for completion in early 2015 and will also include an on-site distribution center alongside Method’s manufacturing and bottling facilities.

Rendering courtesy of Method