SYDNEY (News release) -- Pratt Industries executive chairman, Anthony Pratt, has pledged to invest $5 billion in U.S. recycling and clean energy infrastructure to create 5000 American manufacturing jobs over the next 10 years.

Anthony Pratt made the pledge - his largest ever commitment - to Caroline Kennedy, the U.S. Ambassador to Australia, at a recent black tie event in Sydney.

"Pratt Industries is proud to already be the largest Australian employer of Americans - providing 11,000 well-paying, green-collar jobs in more than 70 factories across the nation," Pratt said.

Part of the new commitment is already taking shape in Henderson, KY, where the company is building its 6th, 100% recycled paper mill. An investment of $500 million, the mill is one of the biggest economic development achievements in Western Kentucky in the past 25 years.

Pratt is also building a 700,000 square-foot corrugator plant adjacent to the mill. The combined project expects to bring more than 300 full time jobs to the area and more than 700 jobs for the construction phase.