Hood Container Announces $118.9 Million Project At La. Paper Mill

Hood Container Corp., a family-owned packaging and paper company, has announced it will invest $118.9 million to modernize its legacy paper mill in West Feliciana Parish, La., allowing the company to significantly boost production capacity and quality to meet evolving market demands.

The project will center around upgrading Hood Container’s primary paper machine, which will increase production capacity by 80,000 tons per year. With the manufacturing of more, higher-quality products, the company anticipates buying an additional 204,000 tons of wood chips and 22,000 tons of recycled boxes annually. The investment will also include significant improvements to the facility’s recovery boiler. The first phase of the upgrade will occur during the third quarter of 2026, and the remaining equipment and additions will be fully installed during the May 2027 annual mill outage.

To secure the project, the State of Louisiana offered the company a competitive incentive package that includes an $800,000 Modernization Tax Credit to be paid out over a five-year period. Hood Container also is expected to utilize the state’s Industrial Tax Exemption Program.

“Hood Container is proud to continue growing our containerboard business with a new investment to our St. Francisville mill,” Hood Container Senior Vice President Wayne Morgan says. “The State of Louisiana has been a valued partner since we acquired the facility in 2015, and we look forward to building on that strong relationship in the years ahead.”

The company is expected to retain 295 current positions with an estimated salary more than 30% above the parish average. Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project will result in an additional 819 indirect new jobs.

The facility was first opened in the late 1950s by Crown Zellerbach and later operated under Tembec. Since taking ownership in 2015, Hood Container has invested more than $160 million in the facility.