FDBusiness.com

Selters/Saint-Étienne (hds).- On 28 November 2014 the second Schütz site was officially opened in France. The new factory is the latest component in Schütz’s strategy of consistently increasing delivery security and flexibility for the company’s customers worldwide. Since May, customers throughout southern France have been supplied with IBCs from the new site. Now, the new Schütz France factory has been officially inaugurated with an event attended by 150 guests.

Built in only a few months, the state-of-the-art factory in Saint-Étienne, the capital of the Département Loire, has now been officially commissioned in fitting style: Roland Strassburger, Schütz CEO, and Andrea Adolf, General Manager Schütz France, welcomed guests from industry, business and politics, customers from the segments food, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, journalists from regional media and international trade media to attend the official inauguration event which concluded with the ceremonial cutting of a ribbon. The political representatives, including Fabienne Buccio, Prefect of the Département Loire; Gaël Perdriau, Mayor of Saint-Étienne and President of Saint-Étienne Métropole; Jean-Louis Gagnaire, Member of the Parliament for the Département Loire, Vice-president of the Conseil Régional Rhône-Alpes and Economic Development Director; Maurice Vincent, Senator of the Département Loire; Klaus Ranner, General Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany, and Bernard Bonne, President of the Conseil Général de la Loire, were highly satisfied with Schütz’s choice of location. In their speeches they praised the positive impact of the new factory for the entire region, including the creation of new jobs.

IBCs for the “Midi”

The factory site is situated in the Technopôle industrial park, which is 60 kilometres south-west of Lyon at the foot of Mont Pilat on the eastern border of the Central Massif. Andrea Adolf emphasised the advantages of this geographic location for Schütz: “This second site puts us even closer to our customers in the Rhône-Alpes area, the region with the second-largest economy in France and Switzerland is also within easy reach.” This will enable Schütz to further increase service flexibility and boost supply security. The direct connection to the A72 motorway ensures shorter transport distances and improves the company’s carbon footprint, which also benefits the environment.

In a factory tour guests were given a glimpse of the current portfolio, including the production of new Ecobulks in a three-layer extrusion process and the reconditioning of used containers, a service that was launched here a few weeks ago. All loading now takes place within the hall to ensure compliance with the very highest hygiene standards as required by the FSSC 22000 certification (Food Safety System Certification). The factory is presently being prepared for this industry standard, which is essential for the production of the new Foodcert IBCs. From the Saint-Étienne factory, Schütz France will be supplying IBCs to the entire “Midi” region: all of southern France and parts of Switzerland.

Operating in France for over 25 years

In 1989, Schütz opened the company’s first international site in France and in 1992 Schütz France started producing IBCs in Marcoussis. This factory is situated 35 kilometres south of Paris, close to central motorway junctions and Orly Airport. To meet the steadily increasing demand Schütz invested in expanding the factory and included the site in the international Schütz Ticket Service, which collects and reconditions used IBCs. As part of this global recycling system the company reuses the recycled inner bottles to make plastic components, such as corner guards and pallets, thus also underscoring the company’s commitment to sustainability in France.

In 2012, the factory just outside Paris received FSSC 22000 certification, which documents the compliance of materials, the production process and the finished products with the highest safety and purity standards. The Schütz Foodcert packaging produced according to this standard fulfils the very highest hygiene and food safety standards and fully complies with the demands of the food industry. The inauguration of the second site in Saint-Étienne secures Schütz France’s present and future position as a leading supplier in the IBC segment.

About Schütz

Schütz GmbH & Co. KGaA was founded in 1958. The company has its headquarters in Selters in the Westerwald region of Germany. Schütz employs over 3500 people at more than 40 production sites around the world. The three Schütz business units, Packaging Systems, Energy Systems and Industrial Services, each hold leading positions in their respective markets. The family-run enterprise is an important trendsetter and innovator.

As the leading international producer of high-quality transport packaging (intermediate bulk containers, PE and steel drums), Schütz offers its customers full system solutions, which are all tailored to their individual supply chain. With the Schütz Ticket Service, a closed-loop cycle of speedy collection and reconditioning for used Schütz IBCs, Schütz provides all of the world’s major industrial nations with a service worthy of the group’s sustainability philosophy.

All Schütz surface heating, fuel oil and waste gas systems are purpose-built and economical to run. Thanks to their innovative technology and the comprehensive service Schütz provides, they also meet the very highest ecological standards.

The high level of vertical integration at Schütz – the group manufactures all of its products at its own production plants and also develops and produces all of its main production lines and systems – makes for significant value creation. Schütz also has a Steel Service Centre and an in-house model and mould making unit for producing rotor blades for wind power plants.