The unit, called Gizeh Packaging NA will offer deep drawing, injection molding and labeling with its first plastic packaging production starting in November.
The German manufacturer of rigid plastic packaging has leased 336 square metres (36,248 square feet) of space and is expected to hire 20 people for its start-up with another 50 to 70 jobs in the next three years.
FoodProductionDaily announced in April 2011 the firm had received FDA approval to sell its products in the region.
Milk & dairy products
Ralf Jung, CEO, Gizeh, said the first contracts with customers have already been signed and its first sleeve system will be installed in 2014.
“North America is an extremely interesting market, particularly for our packaging and decoration for milk and dairy products,” he said.
The company, which hopes to invest another $15m into the facility by 2016, counts Nestlé, Unilever, Ferrero, Muller Quaker Dairy and Lactalis as its clients.
Jung added the move was a logical step because the company has been growing steadily with an increasing number of customers in Canada and the US since 2011.
Sixth production location
“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 said.
According to Jung, the US border is only 150km away and the metropolitan region of Detroit, where there are many 'foodstuffs' firms, is three hours away.
Brantford is the sixth production location for Gizeh. In addition to its headquarters in Bergneustadt and Elsterwerda, Brandenburg, Germany, the company has branches in France (Angers), Poland (Tarnowo) and Switzerland (Schlatt).
It produces made-to-measure packaging and decoration such as in-mould labeling (IML), sleeving, conventional labeling and containers with barrier properties.
Later this year, the firm will be one of the first manufacturers in the North American branch to start operating a digital printing machine.