Industry Leaders Create EarthMinded™ Life Cycle Services

DELAWARE, Ohio, November 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- New Service Simplifies Industrial Packaging Reconditioning and Reduces Waste

Veteran industry leaders across two continents have come together to create EarthMinded™ Life Cycle Services (EarthMinded LCS), now the largest industrial packaging reconditioner in the world. EarthMinded LCS is developing new technology and business approaches to transform industrial container reconditioning and help industrial packaging users achieve their sustainability objectives.  

EarthMinded LCS includes Greif, Inc. subsidiary pack2pack (p2p) with eight sites in seven countries across Europe, and Container Life Cycle Management (CLCM) in North America, a joint venture composed of Greif, IndyDrum, Drumco of Arkansas and Drumco of Tennessee. The EarthMinded LCS network in North America also includes Container Management Services covering the western United States, West Texas Drum Company covering the Gulf Coast, Mid-America Steel Drum Co., Inc. covering the Upper Midwest and Great Western Containers covering Canada. Each leader in the network was chosen based on expertise, environmentally responsible practices, reputation and commitment to satisfying the customer.  EarthMinded LCS intends to expand its network globally with service providers who meet its strict standards for industry-leading expertise and stewardship practices. It also expects to expand through acquisitions and green field development.

"We bring greater simplicity, efficiency, flexibility and world-class quality in reconditioning services and related products to customers," said EarthMinded LCS President Dano Lister. "We also help customers compete more effectively in an increasingly resource-constrained and regulated world.

"Through our proprietary technology we provide customers with verifiable reports detailing the reduced environmental impact of their industrial packaging entrusted to us. These reports allow our customers to document their achievements and meet the growing demand for more sustainable packaging."

EarthMinded LCS is committed to operating responsibly, protecting the environment as well as the health and safety of its people. The business is building on its aggregate history of developing and employing transformative technologies to redefine what constitutes environmentally responsible reconditioning, remanufacturing and recycling practices.

In addition to the knowledge that used industrial packaging is responsibly handled, EarthMinded LCS offers savings to customers who want to reduce their total cost of packaging ownership. The collection service provides a practical alternative to storing used industrial packages on site or transporting them for disposal, with the attendant trucking costs and disposal fees. The reconditioning operations generate industrial packaging that is sold at a discount to new packaging and consequently re-introduced into the supply chain. Industrial packaging that cannot be remanufactured or reconditioned is properly recycled.

"Another core benefit is time savings for our customers," Lister said. "EarthMinded LCS provides one-stop convenience, giving each customer the ability to manage the industrial packaging needs of one or multiple sites, from the collection of used to the delivery of reconditioned and new industrial packaging.

"While some in the industry may be constrained by their inability to acquire enough used industrial packaging to meet demand, as the world's largest reconditioner we can attract the amount of reusable industrial packaging to maintain a consistent supply. Our customers can be assured that we have the financial and physical resources to serve them well into the future."

About EarthMinded™ Life Cycle Services

Currently composed of pack2pack with operations in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom; the joint venture Container Life Cycle Management; and network participants, EarthMinded Life Cycle Services delivers reconditioned and remanufactured industrial packaging and related services throughout Europe and North America. Through its integrated network, the business provides the most reliable, cost-effective one-stop service possible to member customers who have one site or several in multiple countries. Already the world's largest industrial packaging reconditioner, EarthMinded LCS will continue to grow worldwide through acquisitions, green field development and with the selective addition of other environmentally responsible companies into the network. Additional information is on the EarthMinded™ website at http://www.earthminded.com/lifecycleservices/about.

About Greif, Inc.

Greif is a world leader in industrial packaging products and services. The company produces steel, plastic, fibre, flexible, corrugated and multiwall containers and containerboard, and provides reconditioning, blending, filling and packaging services for a wide range of industries. Greif also manages timber properties in North America. With $3.5 billion in sales, the company is strategically positioned in more than 55 countries to serve global as well as regional customers. Additional information is on the company's website at http://www.greif.com.