Greif South Africa, (Pty) Ltd

Greif South Africa (Pty) Limited was previously known as Van Leer South Africa. The company was founded by Bernard van Leer in May 1937 under the name Metal Containers South Africa (Pty) Limited with Transvaal Steel Pressing Syndicate Limited (TSP) and Bernard van Leer each having a 50 percent interest. The first Metal Containers plant was opened on a small site in the industrial township of Jacobs, Durban in August 1937. The Factory produced a 45-gallon steel drum ideal for the transportation of diesel oil. In 1952, Stanvac put up the first petroleum refinery in South Africa. In their plans they included a drum plant to make the American-type petrol drum. On 23 September 1954, a state-of-the-art factory was opened in Mobeni, Durban. A small drums plant was set up in Springs in 1954 known as Factory Two. On June 1, 1960, Metal Containers bought out TSP and thereafter the company expanded into other parts of Africa. This acquisition increased the product range manufactured at the Springs Factory to include refuse bins, dairy-ware, primus stoves and, during the war, helmets.Van Leer established learning projects in most of the towns in which it had plants for disadvantaged communities. Until 1996, the Van Leer Group Foundation was the sole shareholder of the shares in the packaging company Royal Packaging Industries Van Leer N.V. This company resulted from the packaging company that was founded by Bernard Van Leer in 1919 and which was globally operating in a substantial number of industrial and consumer packaging markets.