This tough economy hasn't sent every company running for cover—some have used the downtime to recreate themselves, to better tackle business challenges when the markets improve. After a year that culminated in a major acquisition, the industrial packaging firm Greif Bros. Corp. is touting a new identity. Leveraging a new acquisition, the company claims it spans the globe better than anyone else, with 10,000 employees spread through 40 countries. Last year, Greif acquired Van Leer Industrial Packaging, and the two units are now closely integrated, Greif CEO Michael Gasser says. That fuels Greif's new, global reach. Today, the integrated company consists of three business groups: industrial packaging and services, paper, packaging, and services, and timber.