Procter & Gamble Duracell will invest $36 million over the next three years in its Mouse Creek and Coppertop Lane facilities, and create up to 80 more jobs for Cleveland, TN and Bradley County residents, Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty has announced, according to a report in the Cleveland Daily Banner.
P&G will expand its battery manufacturing and packaging facilities in the city. The investment by P&G Duracell, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-performance alkaline batteries, will be an ongoing project over the next three years.
“Existing Tennessee industries are an integral part of the communities they call home, and I would like to thank P&G Duracell for reaffirming its commitment to the citizens of Bradley County,” Hagerty said. “Expansion decisions are only made after careful and thoughtful consideration, and this announcement shows a tremendous vote of confidence in the area’s quality workforce and the state’s favorable business climate.”
The Cleveland manufacturing facility is one of only three P&G Duracell plants in the United States and will be the sole producer of C- and D-cell batteries for the Duracell brand. The company’s other manufacturing plants are located in Lancaster, S.C., and LaGrange, GA. The Cleveland packaging facility is the only one of its kind in North America, packaging batteries for all three U.S. plants at the Bradley County location. The batteries made and packaged in Cleveland are then distributed throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America.
“Duracell has been making batteries in Bradley County since 1961. As county mayor it’s good to know that Duracell is reinforcing its commitment and belief in this community, our citizens and our workforce,” Bradley County Mayor D. Gary Davis said.
“This $36 million is more than an investment to secure the future of Duracell’s largest plant. It also adds to this community’s tax base, provides 60 new jobs at a competitive wage and secures the future of hundreds of employees already on the Duracell payroll. I think it’s great that the world’s most trusted battery is trusting Bradley County to be a partner as we continue to expand and grow together.”
In September 2011, the Cleveland plant celebrated 50 years of battery production. The facility opened Oct. 1, 1961, under the Mallory Battery name. It began producing batteries under the Duracell name in 1964. The Duracell brand is now part of Procter & Gamble’s portfolio of trusted quality brands.
Duracell, in 1993, became the first manufacturing plant in Cleveland to be ISO certified by the International Organization for Standards. The test and packaging center was built in 1980 on Coppertop Lane and a warehouse was added in 1991. The packaging center was completely automated in 1995 and three years later, a distribution center was opened in Cleveland. In 2001, as technology changed, the plant adopted lean manufacturing methods.
