The business restarted production on the machine as planned on 26 September after a four-day maintenance shutdown, during which time various maintenance and improvement measures were carried out “to further improve product quality”.

“In addition, the warehouse and logistics concept has been optimised in recent months and adapted to the new production capacities. As a result, the delivery dates can be met even more precisely in the future,” said the company in a statement.

Feldmuehle filed for insolvency in November 2018 but, following the implementation of a restructuring plan in the context of self-administration, it said two months later that it would continue on with around half of its previous workforce after discontinuing its production of graphic papers and switching its focus to packaging and label grades.

The company’s paper machine 2, which had been used to produce graphic papers, was subsequently shut down.

This was Feldmuehle's second insolvency procedure during 2018; under its former guise, Feldmuehle Uetersen had initiated insolvency proceedings in January.

It was bought five months later by Feldmuehle GmbH, an acquisition vehicle founded by Kairos Industries, a subsidiary of Berlin-based private equity company Beteiligungsgesellschaft.

Based just west of Hamburg, Feldmuehle has a history stretching back to 1904. It became an independent mill again in 2015, after Stora Enso completed the sale of the business to German private equity fund Perusa Partners.

Now employing around 200 staff, the business serves both German and international markets and produces an annual volume of around 75,000 tonnes.