MEXICO, DF and NORCROSS, Ga. -- Grupo Gondi and WestRock announced that they have agreed to combine their operations in Mexico to form a joint venture, creating a leading paper and packaging company in the country.

Grupo Gondi currently operates ten production sites that hold six paper machines, seven corrugated packaging plants and four modern high graphic folding carton plants with pre-printing capacity.

WestRock, one of the world's leading companies in the paper and packaging industry, operates three facilities in Mexico that produce corrugated packaging. WestRock will contribute these facilities, located in Mexicali, Monterrey and Querétaro, and cash to the joint venture in exchange for a 25 percent equity participation in the combined entity, which will operate as Grupo Gondi.

As the majority shareholder, the Grupo Gondi senior management team, led by Eduardo Posada, will manage the joint venture, and WestRock will provide technical and commercial resources to the combination. The business will employ 6,800 people.

"This joint venture expands Grupo Gondi's ability to serve our customers across Mexico, with state-of-the-art technology and enhanced capabilities in packaging options in paper, corrugated, folding cartons and preprint," said Eduardo Posada, chief executive officer, Grupo Gondi. "We have a demonstrated ability to provide outstanding service and innovation for our customers, and this joint venture enables us to continue to grow and expand our national presence."

"Grupo Gondi is finally fulfilling its dream to joint venture with a partner like WestRock and continue to strengthen its position of being the best packaging option in the market. We are very excited about the possibilities of growing the business together," said Alejandro González Cimadevilla, Grupo Gondi's president and chairman of the board.

"Grupo Gondi shares our enthusiasm for growth opportunities in Mexico and for manufacturing the highest-quality packaging solutions for our customers," said Steve Voorhees, chief executive officer, WestRock. "We are confident in the leadership of this new venture and in our ability to maximize the benefits of this partnership to grow and expand our business in Mexico."

The joint venture will be implemented as soon as the transaction is formally approved by Mexico's Antitrust Authority, the Comisión Federal de Competencia Económica (COFECE).