Southern Champion Tray unfolds expansion plans

Packaging firm adding 105 jobs, investing $18.1 million

photo Construction worker Adam Kilgore cuts the extra length off bolts attaching a vertical support to the ground at Southern Champion Tray. The supports are being installed for the addition of a second level to part of their warehouse.

New products, added markets and more business from existing customers are fueling an expansion by Southern Champion Tray, catapulting its Chattanooga workforce by 105 employees over three years.

"It's not explosive growth, but year after year, it's good progress," said John Zeiser, CEO of the business that makes bakery and food packaging items.

The company, which expects to have about 565 workers in the city after the expansion, also will invest $18.1 million in new equipment and in a 16,000-square-foot truck fleet service facility.

The jobs will range from truck drivers to entry-level posts, Zeiser said.

At its North Chattanooga plant on Compress Street, Southern Champion Tray will add manufacturing machines including a cutter, gluer and new tray-forming equipment.

At its 365,000-square-foot Amnicola Highway site, plans are to relocate its fleet service facility on a 4-acre parcel behind that location, Zeiser said.

"We've got a fleet of 25 tractor-trailers," he said, adding that the new facility will handle those vehicles as well as parking.

The company also has an operation in Texas, where it employs about 100 workers.

Charles Wood, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce's vice president for economic development, said city and county commissoners will soon vote on property tax breaks offerd to the company to encourage the expansion in Chattanooga.

"Many other cities would love to have this type growth," Wood said.

Zeiser said the incentives will "slow the pace" of property tax increases from the added investment.

photo Southern Champion Tray employees work at the company's North Chattanooga plant, where they straighten boxes and maintain equipment, as shown in this file photo.

At 87 years old, Southern Champion Tray sales have topped $100 million a year and Zeiser expects revenues to grow about 10 percent this year.

"Business has continued to grow," he said. "We've started to run out of space."

The third-generation, family-owned company makes paperboard packaging primarily for the food industry, while also serving other industries including cosmetic, automotive, hardware and office. It has more than 400 bakery and food service packaging items in stock.

In addition, its products include sleeves, inserts, blister cards and point of purchase displays. Zeiser said it's consistently bringing out new items to grow its business. SCT also provides graphic design and printing services to customers.

The CEO said the company ships from Chattanooga to the West Coast, and it exports from the city as well.

"We export to about a dozen different countries, but it's not a large part of sales," Zeiser said. "Most of the growth we're seeing is domestic."

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.

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