Wet wipe plant bringing 250 jobs to Morristown

A Wisconsin maker of coffee filters and wet wipes will open a factory in Morristown, about 40 miles northeast of Knoxville, bringing 250 new jobs.

Rockline Industries and Tennessee state officials announced Thursday that the company will form a new subsidiary to make wet wipes in a 435,000-square-foot facility, beginning in 2018.

“I appreciate Rockline for choosing Morristown as the location for its new facility and new venture, Iatric Manufacturing Solutions,” state Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe said in a news release. “Manufacturing is one of Tennessee’s top industries, employing over 333,000 Tennesseans, and I am grateful that Rockline will expand this growing sector by creating 250 new jobs in Hamblen County.”

Iatric will design and make wet wipes in its Food and Drug Administration-registered facility for consumers and the health care, food service and hospitality industries, according to the announcement.

Morristown is a city of about 30,000, holding roughly half of Hamblen County’s total population.

Rockline, founded in 1976, employs about 2,500 people worldwide and has factories in Wisconsin, Arkansas, New Jersey, England and South China. In 2015 the company opened a 240,000-square-foot facility in Russellville, Arkansas, and expanded its plant in Springdale, Arkansas, according to a news release.