Paid Training, $25-an-Hour Jobs: DrinkPAK’s $195M Philly Plant Opens Its Doors to Local Workers

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia workforce nonprofit will begin paid training this month to prepare city residents for jobs at the $195 million beverage plant taking shape in South Philadelphia, offering one of the most direct paths yet from classroom to factory floor in the city’s industrial revival.

The Skills Initiative announced a new cohort starting October 27 for its Advanced Manufacturing Technician program, developed with DrinkPAK, the canned beverage maker building its East Coast flagship in the Bellwether District. Graduates can step into full-time roles starting at $25 an hour plus benefits, working 12-hour shifts on a rotating schedule. An online information session is set for October 26 at 1 p.m.

The hiring pipeline gives a human dimension to a project measured mostly in square feet until now. DrinkPAK is putting $195 million into a 1.4 million-square-foot production complex spanning roughly 75 acres, with plans to employ at least 174 people within three years of opening. State officials gathered recently to mark the construction milestone, with the structure’s walls now standing.

What makes the site symbolic is what stood there before. The Bellwether District is a 1,300-acre effort to turn the shuttered Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery into a center for modern manufacturing and logistics. For decades the refinery defined South Philadelphia’s industrial skyline; its replacement is meant to define the next one.

Pennsylvania committed $2 million to help land the deal, and the company qualifies for state manufacturing tax credits along with tax advantages tied to the location’s Keystone Opportunity Zone status. The Shapiro administration, which announced the project last December, counts it among more than $43 billion in private investments it says have been secured statewide, tied to nearly 29,000 jobs.

DrinkPAK was founded in 2020 and has grown into one of North America’s largest contract makers of canned drinks, producing both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages for other brands from ingredients to sealed cans.

“Our 1.4 million-square-foot Philadelphia location will continue to solidify DrinkPAK’s position as North America’s premier canned beverage manufacturer,” said Nate Patena, the company’s CEO. “The City of Philadelphia, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and HRP Group are already proving to be great partners, and we look forward to becoming a part of the Philadelphia community.”

The company expects the plant to begin operating in early 2027.

For residents interested in the training track, applications open later this month through the Skills Initiative, which is collecting sign-ups for updates ahead of the October 27 start.