About a month after Malnove was cleared to lay the foundation for its proposed North Jacksonville paperboard packaging plant expansion in Imeson International Industrial Park, the city is reviewing a permit application for the estimated almost $12.2 million vertical construction.
The city approved a permit Feb. 24 for Haskew Company & Associates Inc. of Jacksonville for the foundation construction at a project cost of $50,000.
Haskew also is the contractor for the proposed tilt-wall expansion of at least 173,000 square feet of space.
AVA Engineers Inc. of Jacksonville is the civil engineer. Codes-ABC Inc. of Orange Park is providing code compliance.
Malnove Inc. of Florida owns the property at 10500 Canada Drive at northeast Canada Drive and Malnove Road.
The company proposes adding warehouse and some office space to an existing 184,304-square-foot plant, creating a 357,304-square-foot building.
The online permit summary shows the expansion as 180,200 square feet.
Malnove.com says that Malnove Packaging Solutions in Jacksonville provides package development, manufacturing and shipping expertise on the U.S. East Coast.
The company makes custom folding carton solutions that include printing, custom cutting, finishing and packaging.
AVA Engineers submitted civil engineering plans to the city in June 2024 to add 171,925 square feet to the building. Plans said it was for warehouse space and that no employees or additional trucks are proposed.
The city approved site clearing for the expansion in December 2024 at a cost of $50,000.
Since Jan. 3, the city has approved $733,879 in permits for site clearing, foundation and fire system work at the site.
Counting the vertical construction, that rises to almost $12.93 million.
Duval County property records show that Malnove acquired the 14.5-acre Imeson property in 1995 and built an almost 240,000-square-foot industrial building in 1998. It added a roughly 4,000-square-foot accessory building in 2024.
Malnove Packaging Solutions President Dale Houck said in July 2024 that the proposed expansion was for warehousing only, reflecting strength in the business.
“We are enthusiastic about the growth of the company and the industry,” he said.
Founded in 1948, Malnove located its headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1976. The original Jacksonville plant opened in 1981 in Southside, moving to Imeson in 1998. A Utah plant opened in 1985.
Malnove installed robotic palletizing in all facilities in 2020.
Houck said the warehouse would store Malnove’s finished goods and the stock it uses to make cartons.
He said the company will vacate warehouse space nearby when the lease expires at year-end 2025 and consolidate the activity at the main Malnove operation.
“We want to have this one by the end of next year,” he said, referring to year-end 2025.