By Joseph Edelen

DOVER — Delmarva Corrugated Packaging celebrated the grand opening of its 465,000-square-foot Dover facility on Friday alongside Delaware’s congressional delegation and Kent County business leaders.

The manufacturing facility plays a significant role in the mid-Atlantic’s supply chain, which has been a hallmark of U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester’s work in Congress for the last two years – as well as U.S. Sens. Chris Coons and Tom Carper.

“The reception we have received from the state of Delaware, from the county, municipality… (this) could not have been done (without) your participation; in the capital structure, the economics of getting this place was absolutely essential to those policies,” said Dennis Mehiel, Delmarva Corrugated Packaging chairman.

Delmarva Corrugated Packaging’s new facility has been operational since 2021, and its business has created 160 full-time manufacturing positions since.

The facility has prioritized green energy since its inception, as millions of tons of wastepaper and cardboard do not see the landfill and are reused at the location. This was applauded by Sen. Carper, who chairs the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Delmarva Corrugated Packaging has also pledged to install a two-megawatt photovoltaic system on its roof, which facility consultant Andreas Akaras predicts will become the largest installment of its kind in the state; enough to power 250 Delaware homes.

“What people don’t realize is that a corrugated facility actually is a major part of the green economy, because we recycle millions of tons of paper that would go to a landfill,” Mr. Akaras said. “One-third of what this place needs will come from the sun, that’s a lot to consider.”

The topics of supply chain benefits and contributions to the move toward green energy in the First State were praised by Rep. Blunt Rochester and Sen. Carper, as well as business leaders and company representatives.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Delaware’s congresswoman has pushed for federal policies to alleviate supply chain stress, which benefits companies like Delmarva Corrugated Packaging, which can assist in supply chain efficiency efforts.

“For the past two years, I’ve been working on strengthening our supply chains because we learned through the pandemic; people weren’t even talking about it unless you were somebody like Dennis (Mehiel),” Rep. Blunt Rochester said.

“We learned you couldn’t get (personal protective equipment), we learned that you couldn’t get baby formula; the shelves were empty.”

As a part of Delmarva Corrugated Packaging’s grand opening ceremony, stakeholders, the congressional delegation and state lawmakers cut a ribbon to mark the occasion.

Mr. Mehiel and Mr. Akaras also presented an “opening of the box” to Austim Delaware, which received $10,000 as a gift in the event.
Staff writer Joe Edelen can