Pratt Industries' Anthony Pratt Named PaperAge's 33rd Executive Papermaker of the Year

Jan. 23, 2020 - PaperAge today announced that Anthony Pratt, Global Chairman of Pratt Industries and Visy Industries, is the recipient of PaperAge's 33rd annual "Executive Papermaker of the Year" award. An exclusive interview with Mr. Pratt will be published in the January/April 2020 issue of PaperAge magazine.

PaperAge selects its Executive Papermaker of the Year based on corporate vision, strategic objectives and strong leadership both within the individual's company and in the paper industry as a whole. The award has been an industry tradition since 1988.

In March of 2016, Pratt Industries opened a 100% recycled containerboard mill in Valparaiso, Indiana — the company' fourth mill in the U.S. and single largest investment ($250 million) in the U.S. at that time.

Most recently, in the fall of 2019, Pratt Industries opened its newest 100% recycled corrugated medium and liner mill in Wapakoneta, Ohio — a $275 million investment. In its first year of operation, the mill is expected to produce about 180,820 tons and consume about 231,000 tons of mixed paper, OCC and double-lined kraft paper. At full capacity in the future the mill will produce 396,000 tpy and consume nearly 466,000 tpy of recovered paper.

In addition to producing recycled board, Pratt Industries consumes some two million tons of recovered paper per year at its five mills, much of which comes from its recycling division, Pratt Recycling. Pratt Recycling has 16 modern Material Recovery Facilities and an operational footprint from New York to California.

Under Anthony Pratt's guidance, Pratt Industries has become the 5th largest corrugated packaging company in the U.S. and the one of the world's largest, privately-held, 100% recycled paper and packaging companies. Pratt Industries employs 9,000 people in the U.S. and a further 5,500 in Australasia under Visy Industries. Group sales exceed USD 6.5 billion.

About Anthony Pratt

Anthony Pratt graduated from Monash University, Melbourne, with a Bachelor of Economics (Hons) in 1983. After graduation he joined the consulting firm of McKinsey & Co, before joining Visy.

Mr. Pratt moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1991 and directed the start-up and development of Pratt Industries, which then had annual revenues of about $100 million. Since that time, Mr. Pratt has engineered the company's spectacular growth through an expanding supply chain that continues through a network of recycled paper mills, strategically-placed sheet plants, full-line box factories and display facilities, as well as recycling facilities and a chain of distribution centers.

Mr. Pratt's dedication to furthering the growth and success of his company hasn't gone unnoticed. RISI's Top 50 Power List 2019, which is compiled by their editorial team after speaking with many pulp and paper industry experts from around the world, placed him as the 6th most influential person in the world of pulp, paper and packaging.

At the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea event in New York City on May 4, 2017, Anthony Pratt pledged to invest $2 billion over the next 10 years in manufacturing facilities and jobs in the U.S.

"I'd like to pledge another $2 billion over the next 10 years, doubling our rate of investment to create an additional 5,000 high-paying manufacturing jobs mainly in the Midwest," Mr. Pratt said.

Mr. Pratt sits on the National Board of the Muhammad Ali Museum and Education Center in Louisville, Kentucky, and is active in numerous charity organizations throughout the U.S. and Australia.

About Pratt Industries

Pratt Industries' operates 5 containerboard mills, which, combined, currently produce approximately 1.6 million tons per year of recycled linerboard and corrugated medium. The mills' production is geared to lightweight, high performance grades of containerboard. About 95% of that production is consumed internally by Pratt's vertically integrated sheet and box plants. The mills utilize recovered paper as raw material, much of which comes from Pratt's Recycling Division. To learn more, visit: www.prattindustries.com.