In addition to promoting quality assurance in the blood donor service, the goal of the Swiss Red Cross is to increase the stock of blood through regular donations. Because safe blood saves lives!

Giving blood is not (yet) necessarily the norm everywhere

In some regions of the world, people often only donate blood for family members so there is therefore not enough available or it needs to be paid for. There is a need to raise awareness here and encourage people to donate blood for others outside their own families. “If somebody needs my blood, I’m there for them,” says Said Mrad, a voluntary Lebanese blood donor. The 26-year-old is giving blood for the fourth time. Thanks to the work of the SRK in cooperation with the Lebanese Red Cross, he now sees it as completely natural to give his blood for other people.

Blood supplies need to be safe

A professional blood donor service not only needs donors but it also needs suitable products and expert knowledge to ensure high quality standards, maximum safety and wide coverage for this vital service. The SRK’s international experience helps the Lebanese Red Cross a great deal as it establishes this valuable service. Greiner Bio-One is supporting this project through its financial contribution, its products and its expertise.

Focus on further growth

In spite of diffcult market circumstances, currency effects and stagnation with regard to individual key accounts and major orders, business volume achieved the level of the preceding year and profitability maintained at an excellent level – the turnover amounted to 473 million euros In particular, solid growth was achieved in the safety products area and the company gained ground in the regional markets in Southern and Eastern Europe, and South America. However, rising material and raw material prices as well as higher freight costs all served to hinder an even better business development.

“We are preparing for further growth through a significant increase in our production capacities”, Rainer Perneker, CEO Greiner Bio-One International GmbH.

The Asian region is one of Greiner Bio-One’s most important growth markets and for example, in China the company has been able to establish a solid position in the preanalytics field within the Beijing area. In October, a second major step followed with the foundation of an additional branch in Shanghai staffed by a focused and specialized team. The joint aim is to step up efforts in the biosciences market and move closer to the customers in this business segment.

The complete annual report can be found here...

Sustainability as a cross-sectional subject  

Although Greiner has established focal points such as those regarding circular economy and CO2 reduction, the group nevertheless regards sustainability as a cross-sectional subject. Because, as Hannes Moser, the Greiner AG CFO, explains, “Apart from plainly evident areas such as environment-friendly product design and responsible material employment, sustainability also means being a good and reliable employer that appreciates the individuality and diversity of its workforce. Moreover, both sustainable management, which involves long-term and transparent relations with all stakeholders and the securing of profit-oriented growth are matters equally inherent to the sustainability thematic area.”

A focus on circular economy  

During 2018, the various impacts of plastics were dealt with extensively on a European level and initial regulations for the industry followed. Greiner welcomes the new EU plastics strategy and in fact has been working on sustainable solutions for a number of years. Indeed in 2016, which was well before the topic of plastic waste came to dominate the day-to-day media agenda, socially and environmentally acceptable conduct was already anchored within the group through the introduction of the binding “Plastics for Life” sustainability strategy. During 2017, there followed the installation of sustainability management across the entire concern and now comes its first Sustainability Report. Accordingly, group activities aimed at product portfolio modification with respect to recycling capacity, increased innovation in line with sustainability and the establishment of a cyclical economic approach, not only represent measures in accordance with the European strategy for plastics, but go beyond the statutory requirements and constitute key issues with regard to which Greiner leads by example.          

Targets as a corporate development blueprint  

The objectives contained in the Sustainability Report partly extend up to the year 2030. They form a blueprint for the future development of the group and more than meet the demands of the EU’s plastics strategy. The targets from the introduction of an internal carbon pricing system by 2020 and the promise that by 2025 all the plastic packaging manufactured will be suitable for recycling, reuse or composting, to an assurance that all problematic and superfluous plastic packaging will be eliminated and an obligation that by 2025 a considerable percentage of the material employed will emanate from recycling.  Axel Kühner, “The latest example of these endeavors is a shampoo bottle, which is produced entirely from recycled polyolefins. It has an attractive design and offers both optimum product protection and outstanding environmental compatibility. The recycled material for this product, which is also 100 percent recyclable, is obtained from plastic milk bottles that were collected in the UK. In fact, the motto, “designed for recycla-bility” was a primary consideration from the very start of this development.”

It is also worthy of note that the Greiner Sustainability Report foresees the occupation by women of 35% of managerial posts by 2025, as well as a 53% cut in specific CO2 emissions and an increase in the share of renewable energy in electricity purchases to 90% by 2030.  

Further information at: sustainability.greiner.com /  #makingithappen

Download the brand new Greiner Sustainability Report here...

++++

Greiner 

Greiner is headquartered in Kremsmünster, Austria, and has four operating divisions comprised by Greiner Packaging, Greiner Bio-One, Greiner Foam and Greiner Extrusion. Greiner is one of the leading producers of foam and processors of plastics for the packaging, furniture, sport, automotive, medical technology and pharmaceutical sectors. It also numbers among the top manufacturers of extrusion lines, tools and complete profile extrusion plants. In the 2018 financial year, Greiner achieved sales revenues of EUR 1.631 billion and employed a workforce of roughly 10,700 at 140 locations in 33 countries. The Greiner CEO is Axel Kühner and its CFO is Hannes Moser. www.greiner.com 

++++

Inquiries: Ute Kliemstein, Head of Group Communications
T: +43 7583 7251-60279; M: +43 664 882 384 51; e-mail: ute.kliemstein@greiner.com

Attendees will leave the Global Summit on Best Practices in Preanalytics feeling confident that they can return to their facility with an improved understanding of specimen collection, the ability to improve patient outcomes, and confidently lead those individuals that collect specimens throughout your facility. Register today! 

Greiner in the 2018 financial year: stable development despite a challenging environment

The group’s continuous growth was also mirrored by a successful financial year in 2018. For although faced by challenging business conditions, as compared to 2017 Greiner AG raised its consolidated sales revenues by three percent to EUR 1.631 billion (2017: EUR 1.579 billion).

Apart from the completion of the Greiner Campus, the predominant themes of the past year were the 150th birthday of the family-owned enterprise and the issue of sustainability. Axel Kühner: “2018 was special in many respects, particularly in view of Greiner’s celebration of the 150th anniversary of its foundation. This represented a jubilee founded upon generations of prudent business management, innovative vision and untiring endeavor. Accordingly, with the Greiner Campus in Kremsmünster and our intensive focus upon sustainability, we are paving the way for the next 150 years of success.”

Diversification again proves its worth

As a profit-oriented business group, Greiner seeks to steadily consolidate its market leadership and as Hannes Moser, the Greiner AG CFO, states: “In times of high raw material prices, exchange rate volatility and political uncertainty, the prudence of our diversification strategy was again demonstrated in 2018 for despite a demanding economic environment, we were able to remain on our growth course.” As compared to the preceding year, cash flow was down by EUR 128 million (2017: EUR 148 million); a fall that emanated primarily from plant closures in Carinthia and Baden Württemberg. Nonetheless, all of Greiner’s investments made in the 2018 financial year, including EUR 108 million on tangible assets (2017: EUR 119 million), were again financed from cash flow. On the 31 December 2018 reporting date, Greiner had a workforce of 10,785 (2017: 10,567) at 140 locations (2017: 139) in 33 countries (2017; 33).

A focus on cyclical economics

During 2018, the various impacts of plastics were dealt with extensively on a European level and initial regulations for the industry followed. Greiner welcomes the new EU plastics strategy and in fact has been working on sustainable solutions for a number of years. Indeed in 2016, which was well before the topic of plastic waste came to dominate the day-to-day media agenda, socially and environmentally acceptable conduct was already anchored within the group through the introduction of the binding “Plastics for Life” sustainability strategy. During 2017, there followed the installation of sustainability management across the entire concern and subsequently, the drawing up of the group’s first sustainability report, which describes Greiner’s commitment in detail and will be published this June. Product portfolio modification in the direction of recycling capacity, increased innovation in line with sustainability and activities aimed at establishing a cyclical economic approach, are not only part of the European strategy for plastics, but also central issues with regard to which Greiner leads by example.

Outlook for 2019

The first quarter of 2019 has commenced favorably and Greiner sees the outlook for the rest of the year in a positive light. The fact that owing to its highly diversified product portfolio, Greiner’s corporate development is largely independent from business cycles means that the economic downturn has affected the group less than some other companies. The consolidation of the foam competence, innovation, globalization and diversification, as well as the establishment of a cyclical economy in which at the end of their life cycle raw materials will be returned to the production process in their entirety, will continue to top the agenda for 2019.

Greiner Bio-One North America, Inc. is a privately held plastic manufacturing company located in Monroe, NC whose three divisions manufacture a variety of products for the medical and research fields. The manufactured products include plasticware for the cultivation and analysis of cell and tissue cultures, microplates for high-throughput screening related to drug screening, products for blood and specimen collection, tests for the detection of bacteria and viruses, as well as, custom-made products. As an international manufacturer with global reach, Greiner Bio-One provides the manufacturing, distribution logistics and product application support to the world’s largest hospitals, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporations.For more information about Greiner Bio-One North America, Inc. please visithttp://www.gbo.com.

We are proud to announce that Greiner Bio-One has now changed its logo online on the website www.gbo.com and on all existing social media channels managed by Greiner Bio-One.

Rebranding of Greiner

As already announced by Greiner AG there are new wording specifications for Greiner AG since October 2018. The former Greiner Holding AG became Greiner AG and Greiner Group became Greiner. Greiner is headquartered in Kremsmünster, Austria, and has four operating divisions comprised by Greiner Packaging, Greiner Bio-One, Greiner Foam and Greiner Extrusion. Greiner is one of the leading producers of foam and processors of plastics for the packaging, furniture, sport, automotive, medical technology and pharmaceutical sectors. It also numbers among the top manufacturers of extrusion lines, tools and complete profile extrusion plants.

The VACUETTE® SAFELINK provides a secure luer lock connection, making this holder a safe and easy-to-use accessory for transfer of blood to an evacuated tube. 

Greiner Bio-One North America, Inc. is a privately held plastic manufacturing company located in Monroe, NC whose three divisions manufacture a variety of products for the medical and research fields. The manufactured products include plastic ware for the cultivation and analysis of cell and tissue cultures, microplates for high-throughput screening related to drug screening, products for blood and specimen collection, tests for the detection of bacteria and viruses, as well as, custom-made products. As an international manufacturer with global reach, Greiner Bio-One provides the manufacturing, distribution logistics and product application support to the world’s largest hospitals, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporations.

For more information about Greiner Bio-One North America, Inc. please visit http://www.gbo.com

Products within this new product line range from 125mL to 3000mL capacity and are available with flat or baffled bottoms to suit the needs of the customer. For additional information regarding this product, customers are encouraged to visit the Greiner Bio-One website or contact their Account Manager. 

Greiner Bio-One North America, Inc., located in Monroe, North Carolina, provides product manufacturing, distribution logistics and product application support to clinical laboratories, research laboratories at Universities, startup companies, and to the world’s largest hospitals, Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology corporations. Greiner Bio-One’s products offer solutions for the collection of human samples and  plastic labware products specifically related to the medical research field. 

For more information about Greiner Bio-One North America, please visit www.gbo.com.

This is the first report of a bio-functional, innervated, salivary gland-like organoid produced through bioprinting. This is an important step towards salivary gland regeneration needed for the development of an effective treatment of radiotherapy-induced xerostomia.

Further information regarding this breakthrough can be found online and in Biomaterials, Volume 180, October 2018, Pages 52-66, found here.

Greiner Bio-One North America, Inc. is a privately held plastic manufacturing company located in Monroe, NC whose three divisions manufacture a variety of products for the medical and research fields. The manufactured products include plasticware for the cultivation and analysis of cell and tissue cultures, microplates for high-throughput screening related to drug screening, products for blood and specimen collection, tests for the detection of bacteria and viruses, as well as, custom-made products. As an international manufacturer with global reach, Greiner Bio-One provides the manufacturing, distribution logistics and product application support to the world’s largest hospitals, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporations. 
For more information about Greiner Bio-One North America, Inc. please visit www.gbo.com

Greiner Bio-One North America, Inc. specifically celebrated by inviting employees and their families to an all-day celebration with music, food, and entertainment. This milestone for the company is an achievement that all Greiner Group employees are honored to be a part of as all employees strive to achieve continued success and prosperity in their respective business units.

 
Greiner Bio-One North America, Inc. is a privately held plastic manufacturing company located in Monroe, NC whose three divisions manufacture a variety of products for the medical and research fields. The manufactured products include plasticware for the  cultivation and analysis of cell and tissue cultures, microplates for high-throughput screening related to drug screening, products for blood and specimen collection, tests for the detection of bacteria and viruses, as well as, custom-made products. As an international manufacturer with global reach, Greiner Bio-One provides the manufacturing, distribution logistics and product application support to the world’s largest hospitals, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporations. 
For more information about Greiner Bio-One North America, Inc. please visit www.gbo.com.

For this magnetic 3D assay, standard flat bottom 384 and 1536 well plates featuring a cell repellent surface were employed, combined with a magnetic 3D bioprinting technology. The homogeneous HTS organoid-based assay was standardized using well known anti-cancer agents against four patient-derived pancreatic cancer KRAS mutant associated primary cell lines, including cancer associated fibroblasts. This technology was further validated for its compatibility with HTS instrumentation and robotics by completing a cytotoxicity screen with a library of 3300 approved drugs. To determine the validity of 3D vs 2D HTS, a parallel screen was performed on the same cells in monolayer culture. These results indicate that an ex vivo clinically relevant 3D tumor model can be rapidly adapted and used for large scale drug screening, taking us one step closer to applying precision medicine to the treatment of cancer.

n3D President and CSO Glauco Souza said, “It is exciting that we picked the ‘needle in a haystack.’ We identified, out of the 3,300 approved drugs, the compound that is currently undergoing Phase I clinical trials for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, disulfiram. Disulfiram was only active in certain cancer specific 3D cultures, not in 2D.”

In this work, magnetic 3D bioprinting provided a strategic advantage, since it is a rapid, relatively easy, and reproducible method to print 3D cultures in high throughput. First author and Postdoctoral Fellow at The Scripps Research Institute Shurong Hou said, "These results further support the improved predictive value of 3D cell culture over 2D". 

“This work demonstrates  a faster and more physiologically relevant cost-efficient drug discovery process, which ultimately will aid in avoiding possible false positives and improving the accuracy" said Timothy Spicer and Louis Scampavia, leaders of this project from The Scripps Research Institute. 

For information on Magnetic 3D Cell Culture, contact Greiner Bio-One. 

Greiner Bio-One North America, Inc. is a privately held plastic manufacturing company located in Monroe, NC whose three divisions manufacture a variety of products for the medical and research fields. The manufactured products include plasticware for the cultivation and analysis of cell and tissue cultures, microplates for high-throughput screening related to drug screening, products for blood and specimen collection, tests for the detection of bacteria and viruses, as well as, custom-made products. As an international manufacturer with global reach, Greiner Bio-One provides the manufacturing, distribution logistics and product application support to the world’s largest hospitals, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporations. 

For more information about Greiner Bio-One North America, Inc. please visit www.gbo.com.
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R33CA206949. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

With the ever increasing cost of drug development, there is high demand for novel approaches to efficiently discover new drugs. Traditionally, drug discovery uses either animal models or 2D cell culture to screen drugs, whose selection requires a tradeoff between accuracy and scale. 3D cell culture, like magnetic 3D cell culture (m3D), is breaking the paradigm for in vitro methods to provide the predictiveness and accuracy comparable to in vivo models with the high-throughput productivity of 2D cell culture. 

For this magnetic 3D assay, standard flat bottom 384 and 1536 well plates featuring a cell repellent surface were employed, combined with a magnetic 3D bioprinting technology. The homogeneous HTS organoid-based assay was standardized using well known anti-cancer agents against four patient-derived pancreatic cancer KRAS mutant associated primary cell lines, including cancer associated fibroblasts. This technology was further validated for its compatibility with HTS instrumentation and robotics by completing a cytotoxicity screen with a library of 3300 approved drugs. To determine the validity of 3D vs 2D HTS, a parallel screen was performed on the same cells in monolayer culture. These results indicate that an ex vivo clinically relevant 3D tumor model can be rapidly adapted and used for large scale drug screening, taking us one step closer to applying precision medicine to the treatment of cancer.

n3D President and CSO Glauco Souza said, “It is exciting that we picked the ‘needle in a haystack.’ We identified, out of the 3,300 approved drugs, the compound that is currently undergoing Phase I clinical trials for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, disulfiram. Disulfiram was only active in certain cancer specific 3D cultures, not in 2D.”

In this work, magnetic 3D bioprinting provided a strategic advantage, since it is a rapid, relatively easy, and reproducible method to print 3D cultures in high throughput. First author and Postdoctoral Fellow at The Scripps Research Institute Shurong Hou said, "These results further support the improved predictive value of 3D cell culture over 2D". 
“This work demonstrates  a faster and more physiologically relevant cost-efficient drug discovery process, which ultimately will aid in avoiding possible false positives and improving the accuracy" said Timothy Spicer and Louis Scampavia, leaders of this project from The Scripps Research Institute. 

For information on Magnetic 3D Cell Culture, contact Greiner Bio-One. 

Greiner Bio-One North America, Inc. is a privately held plastic manufacturing company located in Monroe, NC whose three divisions manufacture a variety of products for the medical and research fields. The manufactured products include plasticware for the cultivation and analysis of cell and tissue cultures, microplates for high-throughput screening related to drug screening, products for blood and specimen collection, tests for the detection of bacteria and viruses, as well as, custom-made products. As an international manufacturer with global reach, Greiner Bio-One provides the manufacturing, distribution logistics and product application support to the world’s largest hospitals, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporations. 
For more information about Greiner Bio-One North America, Inc. please visit www.gbo.com.
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R33CA206949. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Some of the responsibilities of panel members include the preparation of project proposals, active participation in committee activities, reviewing and commenting on document drafts as requested, and in-depth knowledge in a technical field. Expert panels are established for various technical subject areas as determined by the CLSI Board of Directors. These panels identify consensus development projects, propose these projects to the Consensus Council, review proposals from other sources and advise the Consensus Council on suitability, and review and comment on consensus documents within their area of expertise.
 

Michelle McLean, Senior Product & Clinical Applications Manager

“I have participated in the CLSI consensus process for a number of years and taken part in the development of numerous documents. As the Vice-Chairholder of this Expert Panel, I am honored to have the unique opportunity to work with other experts in this area to ensure that laboratorians have appropriate guidance on all aspects of the preexamination process.”

Don Dunbar, Product Specialist 

“I absolutely love being a part of these committees and helping develop better documents and processes for end users in the field.  It is an honor to be on these committees with others in the field and different industries.  It is also rewarding to work with others from around the world to make a process/document better for everyone involved.”  

Greiner Bio-One North America, Inc. is a privately held plastic manufacturing company located in Monroe, NC whose three divisions manufacture a variety of products for the medical and research fields. The manufactured products include plasticware for the cultivation and analysis of cell and tissue cultures, microplates for high-throughput screening related to drug screening, products for blood and specimen collection, tests for the detection of bacteria and viruses, as well as, custom-made products. As an international manufacturer with global reach, Greiner Bio-One provides the manufacturing, distribution logistics and product application support to the world’s largest hospitals, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporations. 

For more information about Greiner Bio-One North America, Inc. please visit www.gbo.com.

Registration with e-mail address and password

The registration in the online shop has been simplified and a customer number is not required anymore to enter the user account.

Simplified navigation on the website

The navigation has been improved and made clearer.

Product Overview & Shopping Cart

The product overview and the shopping cart appear in a new design. The shopping cart can also be loaded from the individual product pages.

In the US, the One Time Customer feature was also implemented.

Improved workflows and communication

Employees moved into their new offices in the first two weeks of October. “The spacious, bright design of the offices, meeting rooms, and meet-up zones really makes a fantastic difference in my daily work,” said Doris Gintner, a Greiner Bio-One employee, of her new workplace.Departments that were formerly situated at a considerable distance from one another within a building, and sometimes even located at different sites, have now been merged at the organizational level into a single building. “This allows for optimized workflows, shorter communication channels, and greater efficiency during the implementation of projects. The laboratory will also be moved from Rainbach to Kremsmünster to leverage these same benefits,” said Perneker. 

Sustainable investment

The new company building stands out not just for its modern design, but also for its highly efficient use of resources. “We see taking active responsibility for people and the environment as one of our most important duties. If we want to continue to be successful in the future, we need to focus on sustainability in everything we do. This conviction is also reflected in the design and implementation of our site expansion,” noted Axel Kühner, CEO of the Greiner Group. 

A focus on optimal training conditions and open communication

The expansion into the Greiner Campus will create a modern office environment with state-of-the-art workspaces. Open workspaces will be available for interdisciplinary projects and will promote communication and the exchange of ideas across both team and departmental lines. Creating an optimal work environment is also at the heart of the new training center. “Qualified and committed employees are the most important asset a successful company can have. By constructing our training center, we are emphasizing the high value we place on training at Greiner, which extends from apprenticeships, to training for specialist staff, and all the way to a comprehensive range of educational opportunities for all employees,” said Kühner. Cutting-edge trainee workshops will be built for the apprentices, and new seminar and event rooms will create additional space for the education and further training of current and future employees. “Training for apprentices is part of our regional and social responsibility. That is why the Greiner Group trains more young people each year than the company is able to employ,” noted Kühner.

Timeless architecture and sustainable construction techniques

The Greiner Campus is being constructed by the “F2 Architekten” architectural firm based in Schwanenstadt. The site expansion stands out for its environmentally-friendly, rectilinear design. “Clear lines and timeless architecture unite the new construction with the existing buildings to form a harmonious whole. Bright, well-lit interiors and the modern room layout create a pleasant and contemporary office environment. The varied design vocabulary of the new buildings, together with the architecture of the current structures, reflect the group’s diversity,” noted Markus Fischer of F2 Architekten.

++++

About the Greiner Group 

The Greiner Group with headquarters in Kremsmünster, with its four operative business units (Greiner Packaging International GmbH, Greiner Bio-One International GmbH, Greiner Foam International GmbH, Greiner Extrusion Group GmbH) is among the leading foam producers and plastics processors for the packaging, furniture, sports and automotive industry, as well as for medical technology, the pharmaceuticals sector and the leading manufacturers of extrusion tools and machines for plant engineering. The Greiner Group earned sales revenues of EUR 1.475 billion in the financial year 2016 and employed more than 9,700 people at 134 operating sites in 30 countries. The Chairman of the Management Board of the Greiner Group is Axel Kühner, the CFO is Hannes Moser. www.greiner.at

Further enquiries:

Ute Kliemstein, Head of Group Communications
T: +43 7583 7251-60279; C: +43 664 882 384 51; email: ute.kliemstein@greiner.at

It is with great pride that Greiner Bio-One will provide high-quality serological pipettes for 2 months of this program as homage to those going through the program and choosing a career in the biotech field.

Greiner Bio-One North America, Inc. is a privately held plastic manufacturing company located in Monroe, NC whose three divisions manufacture a variety of products for the medical and research fields. The manufactured products include plasticware for the cultivation and analysis of cell and tissue cultures, microplates for high-throughput screening related to drug screening, products for blood and specimen collection, tests for the detection of bacteria and viruses, as well as, custom-made products. As an international manufacturer with global reach, Greiner Bio-One provides the manufacturing, distribution logistics and product application support to the world’s largest hospitals, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporations. 

For more information about Greiner Bio-One North America, Inc. please visit http://www.gbo.com.

We are pleased to have the opportunity to continue to offer our services under this contract.“We look forward to a continued relationship with Vizient, Inc., as this aligns with our dedication to impact lives through improved patient outcomes” said A.C. Marchionne, President and Chairman of the Board for Greiner Bio-One North America, Inc.

About Greiner Bio-One North America, Inc. 

Greiner Bio-One North America, Inc. is a privately held plastic manufacturing company located in Monroe, NC whose three divisions manufacture a variety of products for the medical and research fields. The manufactured products include plasticware for the cultivation and analysis of cell and tissue cultures, microplates for high-throughput screening related to drug screening, products for blood and specimen collection, tests for the detection of bacteria and viruses, as well as, custom-made products. As an international manufacturer with global reach, Greiner Bio-One provides the manufacturing, distribution logistics and product application support to the world’s largest hospitals, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporations. For more information about Greiner Bio-One North America, Inc. please visit https://www.gbo.com.

Reliable results can only be achieved in urine diagnostics if the correct preanalytical conditions are ensured. Urine collection, specimen transport, and further storage are critical factors for sample quality and can affect the results. Most important is the stabilization of urine, if the specimen cannot be analyzed within two hours ^(1). A particular problem is exponential bacterial growth, since certain bacteria divide every 20 minutes. This can lead to an overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria, making detection difficult. This problem can lead to inaccurate results particularly with longer transportation and processing times. It has been shown, that on average 15% of urine samples intended for urine culture are contaminated. ⁽²⁾

The VACUETTE^® Urine CCM Tube preserves specimen integrity and is therefore ideal for transport and processing of urine samples for microbiology culture.

Greiner Bio-One North America, Inc. is a privately held plastic manufacturing company located in Monroe, NC whose three divisions manufacture a variety of products for the medical and research fields. The manufactured products include plastic ware for the cultivation and analysis of cell and tissue cultures, microplates for high-throughput screening related to drug screening, products for blood and specimen collection, tests for the detection of bacteria and viruses, as well as, custom-made products. As an international manufacturer with global reach, Greiner Bio-One provides the manufacturing, distribution logistics and product application support to the world’s largest hospitals, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporations.

For more information about Greiner Bio-One North America, Inc. please visit http://www.gbo.com

1)             CLSI. Urinalysis; Approved Guideline – Third Edition. GP16-A3. Vol 29 No 4.

2)             Berkeris LG Jones BA Walsh MK and Wagar EA: Urin Culture Contamination: A College of American Pathologists Q-Probes Study of 127 Laboratories, Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2008 132(6):913-917

Europe, accounting for rounded 75 percent of sales, is the Greiner Group’s core market, followed by North America and Asia with 10 percent each. “Tapping new markets remains a central topic. Besides the USA, we are focused on the BRICS states, as these markets will record a stronger growth than Europe in the medium to long term,” explains Kühner. In 2016, Greiner Packaging founded a joint venture with a packaging company in India. The company thereby positioned itself on the Indian market with food packaging that is used in the dairy industry. The expansion of the Greiner Bio-One production site in Brazil was completed as planned in the fall of 2016. Greiner Bio-One integrated sales and distribution for Italy into its own organization by taking over a distribution partner of many years. In addition, the company founded its own sales office in Turkey. To also be able in the future to process orders from large automobile manufacturers that are to be satisfied on a global level, Greiner Foam International founded joint ventures in China and Mexico in 2016.
 
“Plastics for Life” for the responsible handling of plastics

The Greiner Group actively lives up to its responsibility as a plastics processor. Under the title “Plastics for Life”, a Group-wide sustainability process was implemented. “Plastics make our daily lives simpler in many areas. But we also know that our products can contribute to environmental pollution if they are not disposed of correctly. We therefore want to raise awareness for the best possible handling of plastics,” Axel Kühner, Chairman of the Management Board of Greiner Group, explains. “Innovation is an important lever for sustainability. We see great potential in innovative and sustainable product solutions that deliver an added value for our customers,” CFO Hannes Moser adds. Plastics should be used anywhere where the material offers advantages over other materials, for example, by saving CO2 because of its low weight during transport. Likewise, plastic waste as a resource for manufacturing new products is a central topic in the context of the company’s sustainable orientation.
 
Outlook 2017

“In spite of difficult framework conditions, we had a good start into the financial year 2017. Especially in the foam division, we are confronted with disproportionally high raw materials prices. In light of this, we expect modest growth for 2017,” says Moser. The successfully adopted globalization strategy will also be continued in the current financial year – both by means of intense working of existing markets as well as by tapping new markets.
On or about May 5, 2017, Greiner Bio-One takes over 67.75 percent of shares of Vigmed Holding AB, a development and trade company for safety IV catheters located in Helsingborg, Sweden. For the first time in company history, Greiner Group takes over shares of a listed company. “Through the majority shareholding in Vigmed, Greiner Bio-One is expanding its product portfolio with IV catheters. The already existing, strong distribution network of Greiner Bio-One is to be utilized for being successful in the market with the product,” explains Chairman of the Board, Axel Kühner.
In the first quarter of 2017, 70 percent of the shares in Plastic System, a Russian packaging specialist with operating site in Noginsk, near Moscow, was taken over by Greiner Packaging. Greiner Packaging thus continues to expand its market share in Russia and its product portfolio. Additionally, Greiner aerospace is expanding its competency with the acquisition of CarTrim, a German specialist for cabin components of aircraft. “The integration of the new acquisitions, the expansion to new markets and the continuous implementation of the sustainability strategy in operations will keep us very busy in the current financial year,” says Kühner.
 
The Greiner Group furthermore invests strongly in the Upper Austrian site. The groundbreaking for the expansion of the headquarters in Kremsmünster will take place in the fall of 2017. Overall EUR 16 million will be invested in the construction. Besides a new trainee center, office areas, open work spaces and the site’s own employee bistro will be built on the modern Greiner Campus. Its completion is planned for early 2019.
 
++++

About the Greiner Group
The Greiner Group with headquarters in Kremsmünster, with its four operative business units (Greiner Packaging International GmbH, Greiner Bio-One International GmbH, Greiner Foam International GmbH, Greiner Extrusion Group GmbH) is among the leading foam producers and plastics processors for the packaging, furniture, sports and automotive industry, as well as for medical technology, the pharmaceuticals sector and the leading manufacturers of extrusion tools and machines for plant engineering. The Greiner Group earned sales revenues of EUR 1.475 billion in the financial year 2016 and employed more than 9,700 people at 134 operating sites in 30 countries. The Chairman of the Management Board of the Greiner Group is (DH) Axel Kühner (MBA), the CFO is Mag. Hannes Moser. www.greiner.at