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Smurfit-Stone's Springfield plants spared from closure after merger

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Following the May acquisition of Smurfit-Stone Container Corp., which operated dual headquarters in Creve Couer and Chicago, Georgia-based RockTenn has announced its plans to close three corrugated container plants in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011. Smurfit-Stone operations in Springfield at 2705 W. Battlefield Road and 460 N. Belcrest Ave. are not on the list.
 
Plants in Birmingham, Ala., Jonesboro, Ark., and Santa Fe Springs, Calif., are set to close, according to a RockTenn news release.
 
According to Springfield Business Journal archives, Smurfit-Stone wrapped up a three-year transformation plan in 2008, investing $7 million in its Springfield plants, including new equipment.
 
Calls to RockTenn’s director of communications and to the Battlefield Road facility were not returned by deadline, but automated answering machines at the Springfield Battlefield Road facility indicate that the RockTenn name already is being used locally.
 
In November 2010, Smurfit-Stone reported 110 local employees at its Battlefield Road facility, ranking No. 17 on SBJ’s list of the area’s largest manufacturing employers.
 
Shareholders with RockTenn and Smurfit-Stone approved the acquisition May 27. Under the agreement and merger plan, each outstanding share of Smurfit-Stone common stock is worth $17.50 in cash and 0.30605 of a share of RockTenn class-A common stock, according to a separate RockTenn news release. RockTenn also closed on $4.3 billion of debt financing. The publicly traded company (NYSE: RKT) has annualized net sales of approximately $10 billion, and 26,000 employees companywide in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and China, the release said.[[In-content Ad]]

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