International Paper announces a $12 million expansion project for its St. Joseph facility. Business and government leaders hail the announcement, saying St Joe survived a downsizing review and will preserve 134 jobs here.

International Paper in St. Joseph, 4725 Easton Road, produces corrugated cardboard boxes for various industries.

The $12 million in new capital investment in equipment will increase the local facility’s efficiency and capacity, said Brad Lau, Vice President of Economic Development for the St. Joseph Metro Chamber.

The Chamber worked to secure that these local jobs would be retained by working with International Paper and local and state government agencies.

Buchanan County provided a $50,000 forgivable loan for employees to be trained on the new equipment, the Chapter 100 Bond Program through the City of St. Joseph provided personal property tax abatement on the new equipment, and the State of Missouri provided retention benefits through its Missouri Works Program.

While no new jobs were created with this economic development project, 134 jobs were retained. The company’s corporate office personnel were evaluating its Missouri facilities in a national efficiency and downsizing review. The St. Joseph facility was in competition among other International Paper facilities nationwide for this investment.

“This is a win for St. Joseph because it demonstrates the strength of our manufacturing base, which was highlighted earlier this year when St. Joseph was nationally ranked fourth in the nation for real gross domestic product growth,” said R. Patt Lilly, President and CEO of the St. Joseph Metro Chamber.