Fayetteville-based Packaging Specialties to invest $24 million in expansion, add 100 jobs

Packaging Specialties Inc., a Fayetteville-based commercial printing and packaging company, announced Monday (Nov. 17) a $24 million expansion and plans to add more than 100 jobs over five years at its Fayetteville plant.

Nearly 100 people, including city, county and state leaders, attended an event to announce the roughly 25,000-square-foot expansion on the company’s 20-acre headquarters at 1663 S. Armstrong Ave. in south Fayetteville.

Nick Guglielmi, CEO of Packaging Specialties, said construction on the expansion will begin after the company receives the necessary permit. Renovations are underway on the adjacent building, which the company purchased in 2024 for $4.7 million. A loading dock will be installed on it after a permit is received.

When completed, the Fayetteville plant will be approximately 250,000 square feet, following the expansion that will connect two adjacent buildings. The expansion will enable the company to meet the increasing demand for its printed film products.

Packaging Specialties provides printed films to more than 20 food and non-food industries using one-color continuous to 10-color process printing. The Fayetteville plant provides printed packaging films; printed lamination films; C-folding, raw or printed slitting; and Inno-Lok with multiple pre-applied zippers to customers across the United States and internationally.

Guglielmi said the company has purchased new equipment to expand its production capacity. The new press that’s been ordered takes one year to build and is expected to be delivered to the plant by September 2026. The building needs to be completed by then so the press can be installed.

Conway-based Nabholz is the general contractor. Little Rock-based McClelland Consulting Engineers is the engineer.

Guglielmi said after meeting Fayetteville Mayor Molly Rawn, the company decided to expand in Fayetteville.

“It was our first time meeting her (Rawn) and listening to what was happening, and she made the comment that we had the most beautiful trails,” Guglielmi said. “We have a beautiful area. We have all this stuff, but we’ve got to work with the manufacturing industries in Fayetteville. We are now a believer. What they’ve done from that office with the Arkansas Economic Development [Commission], with the chamber of commerce, this is why we chose to stay here and not move to other facilities. We love this area. This is where we started.”

The company’s oldest plant is in Fayetteville, Guglielmi said. It also has plants in Burley, Idaho, and Gainesville, Ga. Pacmac, the machine division of Packaging Specialties, is located at the Fayetteville plant.

The company has 473 employees, with 254 based in Fayetteville. Hiring for the expansion will start within six months. Guglielmi said roughly half of the more than 100 new employees will be hired in the first year.

Packaging Specialties was founded in Fayetteville in 1974 by Hays Biggs. Rawn said the family-owned startup “has grown into a company whose products reach across the country and around the world. Through every chapter, one thing has remained the same: This company has deep roots and a deep commitment to its people. This expansion is an investment in new equipment, technology and the future of workforce in Fayetteville.”

Rawn said she often talks about how infrastructure is housing but “so are jobs. We can’t pull our way out of the housing shortage that we are in without more good-paying jobs like what they are offering right here at Packaging Specialties.”

Jennifer Irwin, president and CEO of Chamber Fayetteville, said the more than 100 new jobs will pay an average of more than $25 per hour. Along with the expansion investment amount, “this is a major commitment that’s going to ripple right through our economy, our suppliers and our small businesses.”