Alliance Barrier Films, Daviess County (Indiana) invests $25 million for state-of-the-art blown film manufacturing center

Alliance Barrier Films Manufacturing Center

September 2013, WASHINGTON, Indiana — Alliance Barrier Films, a high-barrier film processor, is making a $25 million investment to build and staff a new 17,600 sq. ft. manufacturing facility in Washington, according to Joe Wellman, Mayor.  When completed in 2017, Alliance’s entry into the high barrier film business will include four new multilayer film extrusion lines producing seven and nine layer films and employing 48 people, the Mayor said.

Blown film products are commonly used in plastic or other packaging for the food and converting industries.  The new Washington facility, under construction near the intersection of I-69 and State Road 50/150 in east Washington, will be “a new, state-of-the-art, blown film manufacturing facility,” said Tom Huff, owner and president of Alliance Barrier Films.  “Technology drives the future and technology is going to drive Alliance Barrier Films future,” Huff continued. “Alliance Barrier Films has the best blown film processing film equipment in the world from Windmoeller & Hoelscher Corporation (W&H),” which gives the company a competitive advantage, he said.

“This investment by Alliance Barrier Films illustrates the strong partnership between the county and city and the Daviess County Economic Development Corporation,” said Mike Myers, president of the Daviess County Council. “The Alliance Barrier Films facility will be located in a very strategic location near the new I-69 interstate, which will likely be the first of many to take advantage of this key position.”

The Council president noted that tax abatements and other financial support for Alliance Barrier Films are currently being finalized. Said Ron Arnold, executive director of the Daviess County Economic Development Corporation: “This is truly a County and City Project.  Abatements from the City and the positive relationship with them in solving infrastructure issues along the I-69 / US 50 Corridor and the continued support from the County has allowed the Daviess County Economic Development Foundation to be in a position to build and lease this new facility to Alliance Barrier Films.   It very much exhibits their forward thinking and is not seen in many counties the size of Daviess.”

“This Alliance Barrier Films project represents an excellent win-win for the county and the city,” said Tony Wichman, president of the Daviess County Commissioners. “We have a growing history of successful projects fashioned by the Daviess County economic development group and supported directly by the county and city, and we look forward to continued success here.”

“It is particularly good for Washington and Daviess County that we were able in this joint project to facilitate Alliance Barrier Films ” said Mayor Wellman. “Tom Huff and his companies have done well in this specialized field of blown film manufacturing, which fits well for other packaging and manufacturing needs in the region.”

“We believe in the future and we are investing in the future,” said Huff.  “Alliance will have the capability to produce flat, gauge band free films for the most exacting applications.”

He continued: “Our ability to produce innovative, cost effective, high quality films will be unparalleled in the industry.  No one will have better film-making capabilities than Alliance Barrier Films.”

As noted by the Mayor, Alliance Barrier Films is not Tom Huff’s first endeavor into blown coex film manufacturing.  In 1989, Huff founded and was president of the successful United Films Corporation in Odon, Indiana.  In 1995, Huff and United Films built a second manufacturing facility in Bloomington, Indiana.  The first coex film line Huff put into Bloomington was a W&H high barrier line.  With the purchase of that line, Huff has the distinction of being the first blown film processor in North America to utilize W&H high barrier blown film technology.

Huff concluded: “I have a long and very successful history with both Daviess County, Indiana and W&H Corp, and I look forward to continuing these relationships and successes in the future.”