Cameron breaks ground on $109M glass-making facility

Cameron Family Glass Packaging officially broke ground June 28 on the first new glass plant built in the United States in 30 years that will manufacture glass exclusively for the wine industry. The facility – funded by a $109 million financing the company completed last month – is expected to create at least 90 jobs in Kalama, Wash., when it is completed in the latter part of 2008.

Washington Governor Chris Gregoire opened the groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the new plant in the Kalama River Industrial Park.

"Today is an exciting day for Cameron Family Glass Packaging and for Washington," said Governor Gregoire. "This plant means family-wage jobs, environmentally friendly manufacturing and support for our great wine industry – all in one project."

Also in attendance were representatives from the company, Cowlitz County Public Utility District, Cowlitz Economic Development Council and the Port of Kalama.

According to Donald R. Cameron, chairman of the board, the company is thrilled to be starting the facility and to be working with so many partners in the region.

"We wouldn't be here today without the support and partnership of many people and organizations, including Governor Gregoire, the Port of Kalama, the Cowlitz Public Utility District, J.H. Kelly, Lower Columbia College, the Cowlitz Economic Development Council, and many others too numerous to name here," he said.

The 175,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility will be built by local contractor J.H. Kelly LLC. Once completed, the plant will be the largest eco-friendly wine bottle manufacturing facility in the world. Its hydro-powered electric furnace will be the largest anywhere for wine bottle production, and will operate by utilizing the Northwest waterways of the Columbia River.

Donald Cameron said producing the glass bottles in an environmentally friendly way was a priority of the company from the very beginning.

"Our furnace, which is the largest electric glass furnace in the world, allows us to minimize the impact on the environment because there are no harmful emissions. By comparison, similar facilities operate furnaces that are powered by fossil fuel, which produce harmful greenhouse emissions and are subject to the ever-rising price of natural gas," he said.

The company will also make recycling a top priority for the facility. The wine bottles will be made at least in part from recycled glass from Washington and Oregon. They will launch recycling programs in surrounding communities where glass is currently being dumped into landfills, and the company will even recycle all water used during the glass-making process.