Paper cup manufacturer plans to open its first facility in Bethlehem

A paper cup manufacturer signed a lease for a 40,000-square-foot building in Bethlehem where it will open its first manufacturing facility next month.

Continental Cup Co. will open its site at 1920 Spillman Drive in Lehigh Valley Industrial Park VII off Route 412.

Lehigh Valley Industrial Park, the owner of the property, built the building on spec, said Don Cunningham, president and CEO of Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp.

“There’s been a shortage in the market for smaller-size industrial manufacturing buildings,” Cunningham said. “We just need more of it.”

Kerry Wrobel, president of LVIP, said LVIP built the building because it saw a lack of properties in the market that offered smaller space.

Continental Cup plans to invest at least $9.5 million into the project and should bring 71 new full-time jobs over the next three years.

Wrobel said the company should start operations in September and it is now setting up equipment. The building is finished and should receive a certificate of occupancy next week, he added.

“The building was perfectly sized for their needs,” Wrobel said.

The company was looking for a site that was also close to Interstate 78, he added.

Continental Cup will manufacture high-end graphic cups primarily for the theater industry, quick-service restaurants and convenience stores, and received some state funds to get started.

The funding includes a $155,000 Pennsylvania First grant from the state Department of Community & Economic Development; $142,000 in job creation tax credits once it creates new jobs; and up to $31,950 in grants for workforce training and development. The state also encouraged the company to apply for a low-interest $400,000 loan from the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority to help with equipment costs, according to a news release.

Additionally, the LVIP property offers the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance program, which takes real estate taxes and abates them at a pro-rated amount over 10 years.

The Governor’s Action Team helped coordinate the project along with LVEDC.

Mike Adams of NAI Summit represented both the tenant and the owner in the transaction.