Greif, Inc.

American manufacturing company

IndustryPackagingFounded1877; 147 years ago (1877)[1]HeadquartersDelaware, Ohio, U.S.ProductsIndustrial packagingRevenueUS$5.5 billion (2021)US$527.1 million (2021)
Net income
US$390.7 million (2021)
Number of employees
16,000[2] (2020)Websitegreif.com

Greif, Inc. is an American manufacturing company based in Delaware, Ohio. Originally a manufacturer of barrels,[1] the company is now focused on producing industrial packaging and containers. In 2018, the company ranked 642 on the Fortune 1000.[3]

History

Historical Greif Bros. logo
Greif Bros logo, 1978

The company was founded in Cleveland in 1877 as "Vanderwyst and Greif" by Charles Greif and his partner Albert Vanderwyst. After three brothers from the Greif family joined the company, it was renamed Greif Bros. Company, and focused on cooperage for the transportation of post-Civil War goods. In 1926, the company made its first public offering as The Greif Bros. Cooperage Corporation.[4]

In 1951, the headquarters was moved from Cleveland to its current location in Delaware, Ohio. Under the leadership of John C. Dempsey, the company transitioned out of the cooperage industry and into industrial packaging, formally dropping the Cooperage from its name in 1969.[1] By 1980, the company had approximately 100 manufacturing facilities in the United States and Canada.[5]

In the late 1990s, and early 2000s, Greif made a significant number of purchases of packaging and industrial businesses. Most notable among these was its purchase of the industrial packaging business of Finnish company Huhtamaeki Van Leer Oyj in 2000 for $620 million, which doubled the size of the company.[6]

On February 11, 2019, Greif completed the acquisition of Caraustar Industries, a manufacturer of recycled materials and paper products with locations in the United States and Canada. Greif purchased Caraustar for $1.8 billion.[7]

In August 2023, it was announced Greif had acquired a 51% stake in the Urbana, OH-headquartered paper partitions supplier, ColePak.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Greif Inc. History". Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  2. ^ "greif.com". Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Greif". Fortune. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
  4. ^ "2014 Form 10-K for Greif Inc". Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  5. ^ "Grief Brothers Expects Increase in '80 Sales". Beaver County Times. 29 Jan 1980. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  6. ^ "COMPANY NEWS; GREIF AGREES TO ACQUIRE A FINNISH PACKAGING BUSINESS". New York Times. 31 October 2000. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  7. ^ "Greif Completes Acquisition of Caraustar Industries". Greif. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  8. ^ "Greif acquires 51% stake in paper partitions supplier ColePak". NS Packaging. 2023-08-31. Retrieved 2023-08-31.

External links

  • Official website
  • Business data for Greif, Inc. (Class A):
    • Bloomberg
    • Google
    • Reuters
    • SEC filings
    • Yahoo!
  • Business data for Greif, Inc. (Class B):
    • Bloomberg
    • Google
    • Reuters
    • SEC filings
    • Yahoo!
  • Greif Inc. History at FundingUniverse
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