Solvay Paperboard was founded in 1994 adjacent to Onondaga Lake on the former site of an abandoned chemical plant that produced soda ash. This brownfield site was ideal for Solvay Paperboard’s new manufacturing facility as it offered low-cost hydroelectric power, an existing cogeneration facility across the street, and a northeastern metropolitan location that would ensure a talented workforce and steady source of recycled fiber.

VIP Structures worked with Solvay Paperboard to design and build a 290,000 SF cardboard manufacturing facility that quickly expanded with a 280,000 SF addition and another 275,000 SF expansion, bringing the total square footage to 845,000 SF. VIP’s team included architects and builders who worked on designing and constructing all three phases that would create one cohesive facility. Since the original construction, VIP has continued to partner with Solvay Paperboard by providing design and construction on several renovation projects.

Southern Container, parent company to Solvay Paperboard and a national benchmark company in the corrugated packaging industry, was consuming over 350,000 tons of containerboard per year, making it one of the largest independent corrugated box makers when it decided to start Solvay Paperboard. In 2008 RockTenn (now Westrock) acquired Southern Container, along with Solvay Paperboard. The acquisition established WestRock as one of the largest manufacturers of containerboard in North America.