Australian recycling king Anthony Pratt opens $1 billion paper mill plant

Recycling king Anthony Pratt has opened the doors of his new $A1.09bn Kentucky paper mill that’s five times the size of the MCG surface.

Billionaire recycling king Anthony Pratt has expanded his US empire with what he says is the world’s most advanced paper mill that will save 25,000 trees every day – more than the total in New York’s Central Park.

The doors of the $US700m ($A1.09bn) facility in the small Kentucky town of Henderson were thrown open on Friday by the Pratt Industries executive chairman, Australia’s US ambassador Kevin Rudd and his American counterpart Caroline Kennedy.

Covering more than 102,000 square metres, the paper mill and corrugated box factory is five times the size of the MCG surface, and it will churn out 1360 tonnes of recycled paper a day which is then turned into cardboard boxes.

Mr Pratt revealed the plant, his biggest in the US, was developed with the help of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali’s wife Lonnie, who connected the Australian businessman with Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear to bring it to the state.

Billionaire recycling king Anthony Pratt has expanded his US empire with what he says is the world’s most advanced paper mill.

“When he called me and said he wanted to put a paper mill in Henderson, I was over the moon,” Ms Ali said.

She and the three-time world heavyweight champion became friends with Mr Pratt in the 1990s, with the Australian saying it had been an “inspirational relationship” for him.

The Kentucky factory – part of Mr Pratt’s commitment to invest $US5bn ($A7.8bn) in America over the next decade – will employ 325 workers, taking the company’s footprint in the US to more than 12,000 employees at 72 facilities across 25 states.

“This is a very proud day for our company … This will help reduce landfill, cut methane gas emissions, and create green collar American manufacturing jobs,” Mr Pratt said.

Billionaire recycling king Anthony Pratt with Caroline Kennedy, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Kevin Rudd.

Ms Kennedy hailed Pratt Industries for developing “a cutting edge large-scale solution to our massive waste problem”.

“Lots of attention is being applied to creating new technologies, but unless we can reuse our precious resources, we won’t be able to create a greener future,” she said.

Dr Rudd added: “Anthony, you are Australia’s largest investor in the United States, and we are proud of you.”

Mr Beshear, who made Mr Pratt an honorary Kentucky colonel to acknowledge his investment, described the factory as a “game-changer” and “one of the most exciting projects in Kentucky’s history”.

Billionaire recycling king Anthony Pratt. Picture: Supplied

“You’re not just getting an incredible company, an incredible employer, you’re getting a pillar of this community,” he said.

“I am so grateful to Anthony – who I’m proud to call a friend – for his leadership”

Pratt Industries has now built six out of the last eight paper mills in the US and ranks as the country’s fifth largest corrugated packing company, three decades after it was founded.

“We are transforming America’s recycling and manufacturing sectors through these initiatives,” Mr Pratt said, as he described recycling as “an important weapon against climate change”.

Originally published as Australian recycling king Anthony Pratt opens $1 billion paper mill plant