International Paper (NYSE: IP) broke ground on a $225 million corrugated packaging facility in Brandon, Mississippi, on May 20, 2026, marking one of the largest single-site packaging investments in the Mid-South in recent years. The project signals a broader shift toward modernized, regionally concentrated supply capacity for industries including automotive.
Background
The project is part of a sweeping strategic repositioning at International Paper. In January 2025, IP completed its acquisition of DS Smith plc for approximately $7.1 billion, creating a combined company with operations in more than 30 countries and a stated focus on North American and EMEA markets. In January 2026, IP announced plans to separate its North America and EMEA businesses into two independent, publicly traded companies, with the spinoff expected to complete within 12 to 15 months. The Mississippi investment falls squarely within the North American entity's capital allocation strategy.
International Paper has maintained a presence in Mississippi for nearly half a century and currently operates three mills in the state, according to Keith Townsend, IP's group vice president and general manager for North America Packaging Solutions East. The new Brandon facility replaces the company's existing Richland box plant in Jackson-an older asset earmarked for retirement as part of a manufacturing footprint review approved by IP's board of directors.
Details
The greenfield facility will span 468,000 square feet on an 80-acre site in the East Metro Center near Brandon, less than 10 miles from the Richland plant it will replace. According to Resource Recycling, the plant is expected to carry an annual production capacity of 1.8 billion square feet of corrugated packaging, making it a significant volume hub for the region. Construction is scheduled to begin in June 2026, with full operations anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2027.
"This investment supports our strategy to optimize our box plant system and focus capital where it drives the greatest return," Townsend said in IP's official announcement. "By modernizing our footprint in Mississippi, we are strengthening our service model and ability to provide customers with the highest quality sustainable packaging solutions."
The project is expected to create or transition approximately 150 jobs, with employees from the Richland facility expected to transfer to the new plant upon completion. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves attended the May 20 groundbreaking, describing the investment as evidence of continued economic development momentum in the state. Rankin County's development authority, Rankin First, confirmed the site had been positioned over several years to attract large-scale industrial manufacturing.
IP did not disclose specific data on recycled fiber content, energy consumption targets, or other environmental performance metrics tied to the facility, according to Resource Recycling's coverage.
The investment arrives as the corrugated automotive packaging market expands. According to Persistence Market Research, the global corrugated automotive packaging market is valued at approximately $4.8 billion in 2026 and is projected to reach $6.4 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 4.2%. North America is projected to hold the largest regional share at approximately 37%, supported by automotive manufacturing scale, nearshoring activity, and growing EV and battery production. For automotive OEMs and tier suppliers, procurement decisions increasingly favor suppliers that can demonstrate recycled content traceability and local supply reliability-criteria a modern, high-capacity box plant in the Mid-South is designed to address.
Regulatory frameworks emphasizing recyclability, extended producer responsibility, and closed-loop recovery are reshaping procurement decisions among OEMs and tier suppliers, favoring corrugated solutions over mixed-material alternatives, according to Persistence Market Research's market analysis.
Outlook
The Brandon facility is not an isolated move. IP's broader North American strategy-sharpened by the pending geographic separation from its EMEA operations-concentrates capital on hyperlocal service density. IP's own strategy documents note that most competition in the corrugated packaging market occurs within 250 miles of a customer's facility, making regional capacity additions directly relevant to procurement planning for nearby auto assembly clusters. For supply chain directors and packaging engineers sourcing corrugated solutions in the U.S. Southeast and Mid-South, the Brandon plant's Q4 2027 operational start represents a meaningful shift in available local capacity-and a potential trigger for contract review cycles beginning in 2027.
