German packager Gizeh investing $15 million in new Ontario plant

Gizeh Verpackungen GmbH & Co KG, a German manufacturer of rigid plastic packaging for the food industry is investing $15 million to open its first North American facility in Brantford, Ont.

“A branch of our own in North America is a logical step for Gizeh – it’s an extremely interesting market, particularly for our technologically advanced packaging and decoration solutions for milk and dairy products,” said Ralf Jung, CEO of the Bergneustadt, Germany-based company. Gizeh has been steadily growing for years, Jung said, and since 2011 has supplied an increasing number of customers in Canada and the U.S. “With a local presence, we want to be closer to our customers and, in the medium term, become a major player in the North American market,” he added.

The new company is called Gizeh Packaging NA Inc.; installation of the first sleeve system is planned for the beginning of 2014. The company makes thermoformed, injection molded and blow molded packaging.

The company is already onsite in the building and has begun renovation work, expecting to hire 20 people for its start-up with the potential to add another 50 to 70 jobs in the next three years. The production area covers a 4,000 square meter site and employs 20 members of staff, going up to 50 by 2015.

Gizeh will be manufacturing plastic packaging for its clients based in the region – the company counts as its major clients Nestlé, Unilever, Ferrero, Muller Quaker Dairy, and Lactalis. The Brantford site will be operational as early as November of this year, Jung said, with full operation for one of their clients by January, 2014.

The decisive factor for the new branch was its strategically favorable location, Jung said, noting that Brantford is located south of Toronto in the heart of the Canadian foodstuffs industry. “This is an optimal location for serving our existing and potential customers in Canada and, at the same time, it is a good springboard for our further development of the U.S. market,” he said. “The U.S. border is only 150 km away. The metropolitan region of Detroit, where there are also many foodstuffs firms, is only three hours away.”

Altogether, Brantford is the sixth production location for Gizeh, one of the largest European manufacturers of rigid plastic packaging.