ST. FRANCISVILLE — A packaging and paper company is investing nearly $120 million to upgrade its paper mill in West Feliciana Parish.

Hood Container Corporation says the $118.9 million will "modernize its legacy paper mill" and allow the company to significantly boost production capacity.

The company will retain its 295 current employees at the facility that originally opened in the 1950s. The project will also add an estimated 819 indirect new jobs, Louisiana Economic Development estimates.

The project will upgrade Hood Container’s primary paper machine, which will increase production capacity by 80,000 tons per year. The investment will also include significant improvements to the facility’s recovery boiler, an essential part of powering the mill.

The first phase of the upgrade will happen during the third quarter of 2026, and the remaining equipment and additions will be fully installed during the May 2027 annual mill outage, the company said.

The state offered the company an incentive package that includes an $800,000 modernization tax credit to be paid out over five years, Hood officials said.