In 1883 he organised a small plant on Vorontsovskaya st. in Berdiansk.Lyman I., Konstantinova V., Danchenko Eu.. British Consul and Industrialist John Edward Greaves / Британський консул і промисловець Джон Грієвз. — Бердянськ: Видавець Ткачук О. В., 2017./Berdiansk, 2017.P. 71.[English, Ukrainian] In 1894 his plant was incorporated by Trade Industrial Association.Lyman I., Konstantinova V., Danchenko Eu.. British Consul and Industrialist John Edward Greaves / Британський консул і промисловець Джон Грієвз. — Бердянськ: Видавець Ткачук О. В., 2017./Berdiansk, 2017.P. 72.[English, Ukrainian] In 1896 at the All-Russian exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod J. Greave's plant was awarded the right to use the Russian Imperial Arms in its advertisements. Two years later, Greaves was granted with personal gratitude from Nicolas II for "very energetic and fruitful activity in the field of Russian agricultural machines manifacturing'. In 1899 he registered the company in Belgium as 'Belgian Anonymous Society John E. Greaves and Co' (Fr.: Etablissements industriels de Berdiansk John Greaves and Co, Société anonyme; Russian: Торгово-Промышленное Анонимное Общество "Джонъ Грiевз и Ко. Бердянск") to avoid Russian taxes. On 21 January 1900 it was officially established in Russia.Полное собрание законов Российской империи. – СПб.: Государственная Типография, 1902. – Собр. ІІІ. – T. ХХ. – Отд. І. – С. 36‐37. In 1912, Greaves became a Chavalier of the Belgian Order of the Crown.Lyman I., Konstantinova V., Danchenko Eu.. British Consul and Industrialist John Edward Greaves / Британський консул і промисловець Джон Грієвз. — Бердянськ: Видавець Ткачук О. В., 2017./Berdiansk, 2017.P. 75.[English, Ukrainian]
