A door to the world has opened for Greif Bros. Corp. as it acquires a division of a Finland-based company.
Delaware-based Greif will double in size with the $620 million acquisition of the Van Leer industrial packaging division from Huhtamaki Van Leer Oyj. The division operates in more than 40 countries, giving Greif 11,000 employees total and a strong competitive position in the global markets of Europe, Asia and Latin America.
“With this acquisition, we are transforming one of America’s oldest industrial companies into a worldwide leader in industrial shipping containers,” says Michael J. Gasser, Greif chairman and CEO. “Our first priority is to accelerate our historical growth rates and take advantage of the opportunities in international markets.”
The 123-year-old Greif Bros. manufactures industrial shipping containers; Van Leer is a worldwide provider of industrial packaging and components.
Behal Sampson Dietz has made the Top 500 list of national remodeling companies in Qualified Remodeler magazine. The firm also has been awarded the contract for the planning and architecture of more than 27,000 square feet in additions and renovations to Jefferson Golf and Country Club.
Working Partner Systems Inc. and Business Against Substance Abuse Coalition (BASA), which provide services for substance-free workplaces, have merged all services and operations at one location, 465 Waterbury Court, Suite E, Gahanna.
The Ohio Tax Credit Authority has approved tax credits for several local companies that expect to create and retain jobs through their expansions. SPATA Communications Corp. of Dublin will receive a 50 percent tax credit for a $46,000 project to expand operations. American Systems Consulting Inc., also in Dublin, will receive a 60 percent tax credit to lease 29,000 square feet of space in a new building on Blazer Parkway.
Located in Circleville, E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. plans to add 50,000 square feet to its existing facility and purchase machinery and equipment in an $88 million project that has received a 60 percent tax credit. Dublin-based FORESIGHT Corp. will receive a 65 percent tax credit to expand its operation and headquarters. Sears, Roebuck & Co. will receive a 60 percent tax credit to expand operations at a distribution center on Lockbourne Industrial Parkway.
Express-Med Inc. has acquired selected assets of three Jacksonville, Fla.-based subsidiaries of Transworld Healthcare Inc. Express-Med founder and CEO Alan T. Rudy says the acquisition will help his company “achieve the critical size necessary to support the innovative service offerings we are creating.” Earlier this year, Express-Med acquired Minneapolis-based Home Service Medical.
Dublin-based Famous Photography Inc., a worldwide marketer of fine collectible golf photography, has signed an agreement with ETW Corp., positioning the company as a distributor of officially licensed Tiger Woods photographs.
The Better Business Bureau has presented its 2000 Business Integrity Awards to Haslett Heating & Cooling, A Blue Dot Services Co., for the small business category, Schoedinger Funeral & Cremation Service in the medium size category and The Frank Gates Service Co. for the large business category.
YourPrivateLine.com, an outsourced Internet-based phone company, has joined forces with Fiber Network Solutions Inc. and ICG Communications to build a telecommunications network. FiberNet will provide the Internet backbone services for YourPrivateLine.com; ICG will provide dial-tone services.
Visual Merchandising and Store Design magazine has presented its Best of Show Award to Mills/James Productions. The award was for video and graphics work produced for Retail Planning Associates for the adidas concept store at Macy’s Herald Square in New York City.
PeeblesPanos Marketing Design Ltd. has opened its new corporate office at 833 Grandview Ave. The PeeblesPanos team partners with clients as an external marketing director.
Four local business leaders have formed a financial services firm called Capital Growth Management Ltd. Peter M. Fuhlbrigge, John Googe, Whitney Logan and Ken Morris Jr. provide investment and estate planning for more than 600 individual investors and business owners and handle the investments and/or administration of more than 2,000 retirement plans. Through their payroll company, Flex-Pay Payroll Services, they also provide full payroll processing and tax filing for more than 500 companies.
Fuhlbrigge previously served as president of Erie Capital Investment Corp. in Toledo and vice president and head of the investment department at McCloy Financial Services. Googe, former president of Midland Mutual Life Insurance Corp., is an active owner of several financial services firms. Morris partnered with Googe in the mid-1990s to reposition several of his private financial service entities based in North Carolina. Logan is founder of Logan Financial Group.
Columbus-based Aitken & Associates Advertising Inc. has been named the agency of record for Buckeye Ford of London, Ohio.
