Newell Rubbermaid breaks ground on packaging facility

Newell Rubbermaid Office Products broke ground Wednesday on a new 155,000-square-foot packaging center next to its distribution center on Railroad Avenue.

"The packaging center is designed to ... meet the needs of continuous improvement, to provide jobs and work and expansion for many years yet to come," said Jim Cunningham, senior human resource manager for the company in Shelbyville.

The facility will package several Newell Rubbermaid office products, for example putting pens or highlighters into blister packs.

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Last fall, the company announced a restructuring which will result in the closure, by the end of this year, of the manufacturing plant on Sharpie Way, resulting in a loss of 300 jobs. The manufacturing capacity is planned to be relocated to Maryville.

But at the same time, the company announced its plans for the new packaging center, which will employ about 120. On Wednesday, company and elected officials celebrated the positive, pointing out the company's investment in a new industrial facility even during a time of economic downturn.

Breaking ground for Newell Rubbermaid Office Products' new packaging center were, from left, R.M. Mackey of Forcum Lannom Contractors LLC; Shelbyville Mayor Wallace Cartwright; Bedford County Mayor Eugene Ray; Aaron Milhorn, senior manager of Newell Rubbermaid's distribution center next door; and Jim Cunningham, Newell Rubbermaid's senior human resources manager in Shelbyville. (T-G Photo by John I. Carney) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

"We are excited here in Shelbyville and Bedford County," said County Mayor Eugene Ray. "We know that this is something that doesn't happen every day in the economy we're living in."

Both Ray and Shelbyville Mayor Wallace Cartwright recalled going to visit with Newell Rubbermaid president and CEO Mark Ketchum in the Atlanta area.

"We really hated to give up the main plant down there," said Cartwright, "but we were certainly appreciative of everything that they were doing to try to keep the distribution center here, and the addition and all that was planned."

Cunningham noted that the pace of change for any business or industry has accelerated.

"The way we do business in 2009 will be different even in 2010, and beyond," said Cunningham.

Cunningham said that it will be November before the last employees leave the Sharpie Way manufacturing location, which had been a Shelbyville landmark for generations, as Empire Pencil Company, then Berol, and finally Sanford.

According to company spokeswoman Connie Bryant, Newell Rubbermaid is transitioning away from the Sanford Brands name in favor of the parent company's name.

Although the groundbreaking was a relatively low-key event, Cunningham promised that the opening of the packaging center in October would be a much bigger celebration.