Industrial packaging and container manufacturer Greif (Delaware, Ohio / USA; www.greif.com) has announced plans to build a second plant in Russia. The new facility will be located in the Vorsino Industrial Park in Kaluga, next to Greif’s steel drum plant, and will produce food-grade intermediate bulk containers (IBCs), doubling its capacity in the country.

“Continued investment from local government and multinational corporations, as well as its proximity to several of Greif’s key customers makes Kaluga an attractive region,” said Konstantin Savinov, director of operations EMEA Eastern Europe. “The investment will allow us to better serve our existing customers by offering more flexibility, reduced lead times and lower transportation costs as well as the ability to dispatch combined batches of steel drums and IBCs. It will also mean we have the capacity to secure new contracts, particularly in the food industry, as well as coatings, petrochemicals and speciality chemicals.”

Greif opened its first IBC facility in Russia in Kazan in 2007. This latest investment follows others in Casablanca / Morocco and Ede / The Netherlands earlier in 2019, where Greif added blow moulding machines – see Plasteurope.com of 16.07.2019 and 24.04.2019.