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After years of traffic bottlenecks and efforts by many local officials and businesses, Kalamazoo is finally poised to benefit from the federal funding necessary to reconstruct the U.S. 131 interchange located just northwest of downtown Kalamazoo. For more than 25 years, the townships of Kalamazoo, Cooper, and Oshtemo, the cities of Kalamazoo and Parchment, along with Kalamazoo County and our state and federal elected delegations have been having this discussion.

This long-awaited project would give the community – and anyone passing through the north side of Kalamazoo – the ability to get onto U.S. 131 and head south without first going north or without driving through residential neighborhoods or downtown to access West Main Street and connect with U.S. 131 to head south.

Graphic Packaging’s Kalamazoo roots run deep. Our plant on Pitcher Street on the city’s North side has been in operation for more than 100 years, employing generations of Kalamazoo residents.

So, when the company was deciding in 2019 where to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to build a new, state-of-the-art coated recycled board (CRB) machine, Kalamazoo was at the top of the list. The only question was how state and local officials would react to the project, especially with a competing suitor to their south in Ohio.

Continue reading “Graphic Packaging Partners with Community to Expand Kalamazoo Operations”