ENKA, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Southeastern Container will invest $31 million to modernize and expand its headquarters and manufacturing operations in Buncombe County, adding 12 jobs and increasing production capacity at its Enka-Candler facility, company and local officials announced Thursday.
The investment will fund facility upgrades, new technology and equipment and expanded closure manufacturing, according to Southeastern Container and the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County.
Company officials said the expansion is driven by growing national demand. The project is expected to create 12 skilled production jobs over the next 18 months, with average wages of $32.90 per hour, while retaining more than 150 existing positions at the Enka headquarters.
“Southeastern Container is excited to bring closure manufacturing to our Enka, NC facility as we expand our industrial capabilities,” Michael Ramos, the company’s president and CEO, said in a news release.
Southeastern Container opened its headquarters and production facility in 1982 in Enka as an injection molding and blow molding plant serving Coca-Cola bottlers across the eastern United States. The company has since grown alongside the Coca-Cola bottling system and now supplies preforms, bottles and pallets to more than 45 Coca-Cola operations in 34 states and six Canadian provinces.
Company officials said the modernization effort will also support continued progress toward sustainability goals. Southeastern Container reports a 31 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions over the past six years and ongoing efforts to achieve zero solid waste to landfill. The company said recycled PET now accounts for more than 23 percent of materials used in its manufacturing process, and lightweighting projects saved 19 million pounds of plastic in 2025.
At its Enka facility, the company also operates a closed-loop recycling system that processes about 5 million pounds of plastic from customer returns, grinding and reprocessing damaged HDPE pallets into new products.
Local leaders said the expansion signals confidence in Buncombe County’s manufacturing sector.
“Buncombe County is proud to celebrate Southeastern Container’s expansion,” Buncombe County Commission Chair Amanda Edwards said in a statement. “Advanced manufacturing careers support nearly 19,000 workers and their families, bringing career-wage jobs, growing household income and building a stronger tax base during our recovery.”
Carol Steen, chair of the EDC board, said supporting high-skill and high-wage manufacturing aligns with the coalition’s long-term economic development strategy.
Southeastern Container is one of the largest suppliers of bottles, preforms, closures and pallets within the Coca-Cola bottling system in the United States and Canada.