Industrial packaging products and services provider Greif will permanently cease production on its Number 1 Paperboard Machine (A1), a non-integrated uncoated recycled paperboard (URB) asset, located in Austell, Georgia, US, by the end of March 2025.
Additionally, its containerboard and URB mill in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, will be permanently shut down by May 2025.
This strategic move will impact approximately 140 jobs.
Greif president and CEO Ole Rosgaard said: “Decisions like these are extremely difficult because of the impact it has on our colleagues and their families, as well as the larger community.
“We are grateful to our colleagues in Austell and Fitchburg for their contributions to the company and are committed to helping them navigate [the] next steps by providing severance benefits and outplacement assistance.”
The decision to cease production at A1 was influenced by increasing costs and a decline in demand within key end-use markets such as furniture, books, and binders.
Meanwhile, high operating costs coupled with the need for substantial capital investment prompted the Fitchburg mill’s closure.
These closures will reduce Greif’s containerboard capacity by 100,000 tons (t) and URB capacity by 90,000t.
Rosgaard added: “These strategic actions will refine our participation in the market and help us maximise the profitability of our mill network and our overall business portfolio.”
Greif offers a wide range of products such as steel, plastic, and fibre drums, intermediate bulk containers, reconditioned containers, jerrycans, and other small plastics.
In addition to these products, Greif manufactures containerboard, corrugated sheets and products, uncoated and coated recycled paperboard, tubes and cores, and a variety of speciality products.
It also offers packaging accessories and services to a broad spectrum of industries.
Greif employs over 14,000 people and operates more than 250 facilities in 37 countries.
Last month, Greif introduced the ModCan modular packaging solution at Pack-Expo in Chicago, US.
