Feldmuehle ceases paper production

Feldmuehle has ceased paper production at its Uetersen site in Germany, ending more than 120 years of paper manufacturing tradition due to unplanned market events, high industrial electricity prices and increasing bureaucratic hurdles.

The company made capital-intensive investments in sustainability and energy efficiency in recent years, optimizing and modernizing processes, training the next generation, developing new products and reducing costs in a highly competitive environment.

'We were confident that we would achieve a turnaround,' the company stated. 'Unfortunately, due to unplanned market events, the inconclusive discussion on industrial electricity prices and ever-increasing new bureaucratic hurdles, we have come to the conclusion that we will no longer be able to continue production at our site in Uetersen in a sufficiently competitive manner in the long term. It is not economically viable to maintain operations.'

The company added: 'It seems that there is no desire for energy-intensive industry to remain in Germany.'

Feldmuehle will finish, sell, and ship the paper produced in the coming weeks. The company thanked employees for their support over the years, despite significant personal sacrifices, noting that they fought to the end and always believed the mill could maintain its market position over the long term.

The company also thanked business partners for their decades of trust and excellent cooperation.