CASA GRANDE, AZ (From news reports) -- Green Bay Packaging Inc., a corrugated container manufacturer headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin, has expanded its footprint into Arizona through the purchase of roughly 80 acres of industrial land adjacent to Kohler Co.'s manufacturing plant and near NRS Logistics in Casa Grande; the land transaction was confirmed by Pinal County documents.

The company laid down $16.5 million in cash this July to Auza Ranches LLC for the property, situated strategically at the southwest corner of Ethington Road and Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway, the sale figures and location was verified by the Tempe-based real estate database Vizzda LLC. While the precise intentions for the acquisition remain undisclosed, Green Bay Packaging's history of developing large plants throughout the country -- including a new 600,000-square-foot facility in Fort Worth and a 370,000-square-foot facility in Ohio -- indicates a pattern of strategic expansion, and it recently announced an expansion of its Great Lakes Packaging Division in Wisconsin with 270,000 square feet of manufacturing space, as outlined in an article by the Phoenix Business Journal.

Representing the seller in this transaction was the Scottsdale-based Land Advisors Organization, but Green Bay Packaging has declined to comment on its intentions for the Casa Grande site. However, the company has constructed a notable presence in Arizona already, maintaining a smaller distribution center in Tempe; their comprehensive portfolio spans more than 40 facilities across 16 states, and they have the capacity for global operations that extend into Mexico and Canada.

he choice of Casa Grande is indicative of the city's rising allure for industrial development, as more manufacturers establish footholds in the area. Kohler's recent introduction of a 1 million-square-foot factory for Sterling bath and shower fixtures operates on a 216-acre site neighboring Green Bay Packaging's newly acquired land and it signifies, along with the reported speculative industrial development now underway, a reinvestment and revitalization of Pinal County's economic landscape; speculation and development which have been absent from the region for decades, are now being proposed and realized to support the increasing demand and growth, according to the Phoenix Business Journal.