MCDONOUGH, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ALPLA, a global manufacturer and recycler of innovative packaging solutions, announced the groundbreaking of its new Learning & Development Hub in Iowa City, Iowa. The facility, an investment estimated at $10-15 million, will be completed in 2025 and will house ALPLA’s training and development initiatives–including its apprenticeship program, which provides free education, training and a career pipeline to future manufacturing professionals.
ALPLA’s Iowa City Learning & Development Hub will be a 35,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility, with future plans to expand with three additional stories. McComas-Lacina Construction, a leader in Iowa City commercial construction projects, was selected to serve as the general contractor for the project.
The Hub will be furnished with ALPLA technologies, machines and equipment–including an electrical workshop and a mold workshop–to provide a safe training environment that meets the highest industry standards.
“Iowa City stood out as a strategic location for our new Learning & Development Hub due its close proximity to our plants using key technologies such as IBM and EBM, as well as our strong partnership with Kirkwood Community College,” said Mirna Morcos, Director, HR, ALPLA. “This new facility will not only train apprentices at the ground level but also support a robust pipeline of skilled workers at every level to drive the future of manufacturing. We’re eager to create a lasting impact by playing a vital role in upskilling and reskilling the future workforce of our country.”
Training and Equipping the Future Workforce in Iowa
ALPLA’s Learning & Development Hub will serve as a training center created exclusively to upskill, reskill and nurture talent for the manufacturing workforce, with the first phase focused on building out its apprenticeship program. ALPLA has hired dedicated apprenticeship trainers to serve at the Learning and Development Hub, and will be adding new apprentice tracks over time as the program grows.
ALPLA’s North America apprenticeship program launched in Summer 2024 in partnership with Kirkwood Community College and Industry Consortium for Advanced Technical Training (ICATT). It provides a paid educational and professional journey for 12 apprentices, including new professionals aiming to start their careers in Mechatronics as well as workers interested in entering a new profession. This significant investment allows future talent to receive personal training and development, gain close understanding of ALPLA’s business and career paths, and gain valuable skills that will be vital in the future economy.
In addition to the hands-on training and skills development in Mechatronics, the three-year program offers a progressive salary, free Associate of Applied Science degree from Kirkwood, German Certification through ICATT, and a stable career path in a growing company and industry.
For more information or to apply to ALPLA’s apprenticeship program, visit education.alpla.com.
About the ALPLA Group
ALPLA is one of the leading companies involved in plastic packaging and recycling. Around 23,300 employees worldwide produce custom-made packaging systems, bottles, caps and molded parts at 196 sites across 47 countries. In North America, ALPLA specializes in bottles and caps for the food, beverage, auto, health, beauty, and home care industries by using conscientious culture to drive purposeful packaging. ALPLA operates recycling plants for PET and HDPE. The international network of ALPLArecycling now includes 13 plants, including joint ventures, in 9 countries: Germany, Italy, Mexico, Austria, Poland, Romania, Spain, South Africa and Thailand. Other projects are being realized elsewhere around the world. www.alpla.com
