US industrial packaging manufacturer Greif (Delaware, Ohio; www.greif.com) has announced that it is closing its flexible products and services (FPS) plant in Saudi Arabia. Operations at the plant will end by 31 August 2014 and equipment will be reallocated to other Greif FPS facilities. Greif FPS is a JV between Greif and National Scientific Co – see Plasteurope.com of 11.08.2010.

Dano Lister, division president of Greif FPS, said the decision to shift the operations is part of a “normal restructuring that will advance the JV’s long-term business goals and better serve our target markets and needs of strategic customers". The plant in Saudi Arabia represents a small proportion of the JV’s overall fabric production capacity.

The FPS business is a strategic component to Greif's overall business strategy, Lister said. "As our business grows and diversifies, we carefully assess market dynamics and the existing and future needs of current and prospective customers,” he added.