Greif company also planning plastic canister production at Kazan site

US bulk packaging company Greif has opened a new industrial packaging operation in Kazan, Russia. The company already has seven other operations in the country.

The Kazan facility is initially producing intermediate bulk containers (IBCs). But Greif plans to also produce plastic canisters and large steel drums at Kazan by the end of 2008, when the facility will employ nearly 100 people.

Michael J. Gasser, who is Greif’s chairman, chief executive and president, said: “Russia continues to be an important growth market for Greif, and we are committed to providing our customers in the country with world-class quality, cost-effective industrial packaging and services for their products.”

Greif already produces steel drums and water cooler bottles in Russia, and the Kazan operation is the first in the country to produce IBCs. The company’s standard IBC is an HDPE container in a solid or tubular reinforced steel cage that is attached to a pallet.

The company produces steel, plastic, fibre, corrugated and multiwall containers at a number of sites around the world. It says it is active in 45 countries, serving global as well as regional customers.