Diversity of offerings, worldwide availability, higher growth and sales figures: Globalization promises many advantages from which more and more industries would like to profit. Digitalization and the increasing mobility of people and products are giving rise to new challenges for companies, but also previously unrivalled opportunities. A good example is Greiner Packaging’s latest joint venture in Russia.

The trend toward increased worldwide involvement does not stop with Greiner Packaging either – on the one hand, it is expected to boost the growth of the company but, on the other hand, the company’s own customers that are expanding must also be able to count on getting the support they need. In recent years, therefore, Greiner Packaging has laid emphasis on expansion beyond Europe. The latest has been a joint venture in Russia undertaken in March 2017.

Expand the product portfolio, strengthen the market position

The new company is being established under the name Greiner Packaging System and is a joint venture with the Russian plastic packaging manufacturer Souzpromplast in Noginks, 40 kilometers east of Moscow. Greiner Packaging holds the majority of the shares. Greiner Packaging has already been successfully represented in the Russian market with a site in Vladimir since 2005, with the key technologies so far being thermoforming in conjunction with the K3^® cardboard-plastic combination. The goal of the joint venture is now to expand the market and to reinforce the activities in Russia. For this, the technology portfolio of Greiner Packaging is being supplemented by IML or printing directly on packages/buckets, in container sizes of 0.8 to 25 liters. More than 230 workers are employed at Souzpromplast, which supplies multinational customers, among them Henkel, Heinz, and Knauf, in accordance with modern European standards. The portfolio of the company includes packaging for the food and non-food sector and it is a key player in the industry, primarily in the field of buckets for paints and chemicals.

Synergies and advantages on the customer side

Frequently, existing customers that operate globally also want a familiar – and therefore trusted and reliable – supplier in foreign markets. Greiner Packaging saw the opportunity to become active in Mexico in such a request from a well-known toy manufacturer, and so the first big step outside of Europe was made in 2010. The fact that many large customers of Greiner Packaging operate not only in Europe but also in the USA led, four years later, to the opening of a production site in Pittston, Pennsylvania. In 2015, with an acquisition in Turkey, the initial step was taken towards the markets in the Middle East and Asia. This strategy was continued in 2016 with a joint venture in India and now, in 2017, with the acquisition in Russia.

Deployment abroad is worth it, not just for Greiner Packaging itself – but also, above all, for its customers, who profit from the expansion strategy of the company.  In this way, the subject of supply reliability plays a decisive role for many partners. With a global production network, Greiner Packaging can ensure that production is guaranteed, even under extreme circumstances. With activities in various regions, the power and speed of innovation of a company also grow, because know-how, experience, and new trends can be exchanged between the individual sites. Even customers that do not operate in foreign markets or do so only in a limited way can profit from this. Also, many international customers are happy when they receive the quality and service they have become used to from anywhere in the world. Having a single contact person for global requirements makes it easier to develop projects and guarantees consistent standards. The international Greiner Packaging site network is relevant on yet another level: Projects can be started in Europe and then – if all the parameters are right – rolled out worldwide. The local proximity also makes Greiner Packaging’s globalization strategy of interest for customers: There are no long distances, the logistics remain streamlined, and transport risks are reduced.

Greiner Packaging will continue to pursue its globalization strategy in the future – for the good of the company, but also primarily for the good of its customers worldwide.