CHICAGO — A packaging company that has operated on the city’s West Side for more than a century is shutting down operations, eliminating over 120 local jobs. Menasha Packaging, a Wisconsin-based manufacturer, confirmed it will close its 103-year-old plant at 4545 West Palmer Street by November 10, affecting 128 workers.
The move comes as a surprise in an otherwise strong industrial market in Chicago, where vacancy rates remain low and demand for warehouse and manufacturing space is growing.
Outdated Infrastructure Behind Closure
The decision to close the 150,000-square-foot facility — which sits on 3.5 acres near Logan Square — was attributed to the plant’s structural limitations and age, according to Menasha Packaging spokesperson John Van Driest.
“The building layout is just not optimized for modern corrugate manufacturing assets and processes,” Van Driest said. “Its current infrastructure, operational limitations, age, and structure just don’t support modernization.”
The plant was built in 1920 and was purchased by Menasha in 2012 for $4.37 million, but a 2023 Cook County property valuation estimated its market value at just $2 million. Van Driest added there are no current plans to sell the site.
Layoffs Extend Beyond Chicago
The Chicago closure is part of a broader workforce reduction across Menasha’s operations in Illinois. Earlier this month, the company also announced plans to lay off an additional 143 workers at three other Illinois plants by October 31, according to state WARN filings. These facilities specialize in sign production and box manufacturing.
Menasha Packaging currently operates nearly 60 facilities across 17 U.S. states and Canada, yet the Chicago facility’s outdated configuration made it a liability in the company’s modernization plans.
Contrasts with Booming Industrial Market
Menasha’s shutdown contrasts sharply with Chicago’s surging industrial sector. According to a recent JLL Q2 report, net absorption jumped from 1.4M to 4.1M square feet, and vacancy rates remain low — just 3.05% overall, and 2.1% specifically for manufacturing.
Despite the broader momentum in the industrial real estate market, Menasha’s inability to retrofit the aging plant pushed it to exit rather than reinvest.
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