Cirkla is expanding its manufacturing footprint in the United States with a new molded fiber packaging facility in Gainesville, Georgia, targeting growing demand for alternatives to conventional plastic and foam food trays.

The company plans to invest approximately $5 million in the operation and create 140 jobs over three years.

The 66,960-square-foot facility will be located at the Gainesville 85 Business Center in Hall County, an area with a large concentration of poultry and food-processing operations.

For Cirkla, the location puts molded fiber packaging production closer to one of the country’s most significant protein-processing clusters as the company seeks to expand adoption of its packaging technology across the US.

Molded Fiber Targets Plastic and Foam Protein Trays

Cirkla produces molded fiber packaging using plant-based fibers including sugarcane bagasse and bamboo.

The fibers are formed into rigid trays and combined with a liner using the company’s lamination technology to provide the functional properties required for food applications.

A major target is protein packaging, where replacing conventional plastic or expanded polystyrene trays is more technically demanding than simply forming a fiber container.

Fresh meat and poultry packaging needs to withstand moisture, maintain structural integrity and work with the atmosphere and sealing systems used to protect the food during distribution.

Cirkla has developed both modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) trays and overwrap trays for these applications.

MAP is particularly important for fresh protein products because the atmosphere inside the package can be controlled to help maintain product quality and shelf life.

According to the company, its fiber trays have already been validated in commercial production environments in India.

“Our manufacturing in India runs at scale and has validated this technology in real production environments across some of the most demanding protein categories,” said Cirkla CEO Vaibhav Goel.

“As U.S. demand has grown, so has the case for a domestic footprint – this facility brings that same capability closer to our customers, built for the national rollouts ahead.”

Gainesville Location Connects Cirkla With Poultry Industry

The choice of Gainesville is strategically significant.

Hall County has a substantial concentration of poultry processors, food manufacturers and companies supplying machinery and technology to the food-processing industry.

That creates a potential customer and supplier ecosystem around Cirkla’s new manufacturing operation.

“As the Poultry Capital of the World and home to one of America’s strongest concentrations of food manufacturers, our ecosystem provides the customers, workforce, and industry partnerships that innovative companies like Cirkla need to succeed,” said Tim Evans, president and CEO of the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce.

Locating production close to food processors could also help Cirkla reduce transportation requirements and shorten lead times compared with supplying the US market entirely from overseas manufacturing operations.

New Inland Port Adds Logistics Capacity

Another factor supporting Gainesville’s manufacturing base is the recently opened Gainesville Inland Port.

The Georgia Ports Authority opened the facility in May 2026, providing companies in northeast Georgia with rail access to the Port of Savannah.

A roughly 324-mile Norfolk Southern rail connection allows international containers to move between the Savannah port complex and Gainesville.

For manufacturers, the inland-port model can reduce reliance on long-distance trucking between coastal terminals and inland production facilities.

The infrastructure could be relevant to Cirkla as it develops a domestic manufacturing operation while remaining connected to international material and equipment supply chains.

Designed to Run on Existing Packaging Lines

One of Cirkla’s main commercial arguments is that switching packaging materials should not require food processors to replace their existing packaging equipment.

The company says its molded fiber trays are designed as plug-and-play alternatives that can operate on existing production lines.

That could be an important consideration for meat and poultry processors.

Changing from a plastic tray to fiber packaging is easier to justify commercially if processors can retain existing filling, sealing and handling equipment rather than make additional capital investments.

However, actual compatibility will depend on individual tray formats, packaging equipment and processing requirements.

Cirkla is targeting applications beyond meat and poultry as well. Its molded fiber technology can be used for prepared meals, fresh produce and other food products traditionally packed in rigid plastic containers.

EPR Could Change the Economics of Fiber Packaging

The expansion also comes as packaging regulations are changing the cost calculations surrounding plastic packaging.

Extended producer responsibility, or EPR, programs can require producers to contribute toward the costs associated with collecting, sorting and managing packaging waste.

Depending on the jurisdiction and packaging format, these fees can alter the relative economics of different packaging materials.

Cirkla says that in markets where plastic packaging faces EPR charges, its MAP and overwrap fiber trays can already become less expensive than conventional plastic alternatives.

That claim will ultimately depend on the specific packaging configuration and applicable EPR fee structure, but it highlights a broader shift occurring in sustainable packaging.

The purchasing decision is increasingly based not only on the price of the package leaving the factory, but also on its potential regulatory and end-of-life costs.

From India Manufacturing to US Production

Cirkla’s expansion builds on manufacturing experience developed in India.

The company’s founders previously worked on Asia-Pacific expansion for packaging technology company Zume before establishing Cirkla.

In 2023, Cirkla raised $3 million in pre-seed funding as it developed its molded fiber packaging business.

The Georgia investment represents another stage in that expansion strategy: moving from overseas production and market validation toward manufacturing closer to US customers.

The new plant will also provide Cirkla with domestic production capacity as American food companies evaluate ways to reduce their reliance on conventional rigid plastic packaging.

For Gainesville, meanwhile, the project adds a packaging manufacturer to an existing food-processing cluster.

The combination could make the facility particularly relevant to the poultry industry. Instead of introducing molded fiber packaging as a general-purpose sustainability concept, Cirkla is positioning production close to processors that could potentially use the trays at large volumes.

If the technology can deliver the barrier performance, equipment compatibility and economics required by protein processors, the Georgia facility could provide an important test of whether molded fiber can move beyond niche food packaging applications and compete with plastic trays at industrial scale.

Last Updated on 21/08/2026 by Jota Machinery