The 400-employee paper and sawmill operation had already seen its idled graphic paper machine transferred to Heinzel in March 2023 for conversion to kraft paper production.

Production is due to start by Q2 2024, with an annual capacity of 150,000 tons of bleached and unbleached kraft papers to be marketed under Heinzel’s Starkraft brand.

The deal’s closure, on Monday (1 January), saw Heinzel likewise take control of the Steyrermühl sawmill, a local power plant run with biomass and residues, and other facilities on site.

The group said it planned to develop the site and supply head and renewable energy for both Heinzel’s neighbouring Laakirchen paper mill – just over a kilometre away – and the adjoining Laakirchen town.

“Our planned investments will not only secure a sustainable future for Steyrermühl and its employees, but they will also help the whole Heinzel Group reduce the use of fossil fuels and reach our ambitious climate targets,” said Sebastian Heinzel, CEO of Heinzel Group.

Graphic paper production at the plant ceased at the end of 2023. Steyrermühl previously had a capacity of 320,000 tonnes of newsprint paper. The site’s sawmill operation can produce up to 370,000 cubic metres of timber a year.

Heinzel now operates across five sites in Europe, producing market pulp, packaging paper, and magazine paper, and trades in cellulose, paper, recycled fibre, and packaging products.