The purchase also includes what the company says is one of the lowest cost solid bleached sulphate paperboard mills in North America, with an annual capacity of 327,000 tons (332,232 tonnes) of bleached paperboard and 91,500 tons(92,964 tonnes) of southern bleached softwood kraft pulp. Rock-Tenn announced a definitive agreement to acquire Gulf States' assets on 28 April 2005.
The acquisition of the paperboard gives the company an entry into the production of the premium paperboard substrate of the folding carton industry, said the company's chairman and chief executiveofficer, James Rubright.
"The geographical footprint and technological capabilities of the 11 folding carton plants we have acquired provide a terrific complement to our 18 folding carton plants," headded. "We believe that there are significant cost saving opportunities from optimising our folding carton operations."
Rock-Tenn has annual net sales of $2.1bn (€1.7bn) and has plants in the US, Canada, Mexico and Chile.