Milliken breaks ground on Blacksburg plant expansion

Spartanburg-based Milliken & Co. announced Tuesday it will expand its Allen Plant in Blacksburg and hire “dozens” of new workers to boost production of a popular clarifying product used in food storage containers.

Increased global demand for Millad NX 8000 prompted the decision to expand, a company official said Tuesday.

“The new Milliken facility will expand the Upstate’s ability to bring tangible sustainability benefits to the global plastics industry,” stated Allen Jacoby, senior vice president of Milliken’s plastics additives business.

“We’re committed to attracting industry-leading talent, investing in our footprint and expanding our team, based here in the Upstate, to support our company’s growth.”

The Allen Plant in Cherokee County is Milliken’s largest specialty chemical plant.

Jacoby said “dozens” of new jobs will be created, from skilled manufacturing positions to leading research chemists, chemical engineers, marketing and sales. The expanded facility is expected to start operations in 2020.

Millad NX 8000 is a clarifier for polypropylene, used in appliances, medical devices, housewares and food storage containers.

“Known in the market as NX UltraClear PP, it answers the growing demand for clear, attractive products and sustainable, cost-efficient production,” according to Milliken’s website.

The Greenville office of Fluor will manage the engineering and construction of the new plant.

Allen is one of three Milliken plants in Cherokee County. The others are the Limestone weaving facility in Gaffney and Magnolia Finishing Plant in Blacksburg.

Founded in 1865, Milliken has more than 2,200 U.S. patents, more than 5,000 patents worldwide, and employs more than 7,000 people.

Based in Spartanburg, it has more than 35 manufacturing facilities in the United States, United Kingdom, Belgium, France, China, India and Australia. It also has sales and service operations throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Milliken makes textiles, specialty chemicals, carpet and floor coverings.

Cherokee County Administrator Steve Bratton and Jim Cook, executive director of the Cherokee County Development Board, could not be reached Tuesday.

Cherokee and Spartanburg County Councils have a joint agreement to provide tax breaks for new and expanding businesses.

Both county councils approved fee-in-lieu-of-tax agreements for the Allen Plant expansion, although the value of the tax break could not be immediately determined.

In 2017, Cherokee County gave Milliken & Co. a reduced tax rate for investing at least $2.5 million to expand all three plants in the county.