Schütz opens new factory
On 28 November 2014 the second Schütz site was officially opened in France.
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 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.