Heinzel will take over the Steyrermühl site from UPM on 1 January 2024, according to an agreement signed last summer, and will enter the market with a new range of unbleached and bleached kraft papers shortly thereafter.
At the site UPM currently operates one paper machine for newsprint production, a sawmill, and a residue incineration plant co-owned with Heinzel’s Laakirchen Papier. UPM plans to continue operations as-is until the end of 2023, when the production of graphic papers in Steyrermühl will be ceased.
As of June last year, the Steyrermühl site employed around 400 staff. The conversion of its idled paper machine will enable the Steyrermühl mill to enter the growing market for packaging papers. The new kraft paper grades produced will be used in the production of bags, pouches, and other flexible packaging products.
“This is the first step in our plan to develop the Laakirchen community with the Steyrermühl mill and our neighbouring Laakirchen mill into a European hub for sustainable packaging papers and renewable energy,” said Heinzel Group CEO Sebastian Heinzel.
“The new papers will complement our existing range and allow us to offer sustainable products replacing fossil-based packaging solutions.”
All relevant competition authorities have now approved the sale of the Steyrermühl mill from UPM to Heinzel. In accordance with the agreement, the ownership of the idled paper machine in Steyrermühl has been transferred to Heinzel Group and the conversion project has begun.
Austrian equipment manufacturer Andritz has won the order for the rebuild. Once it has been converted, by early 2024, the machine will produce up to 150,000 tonnes of brown and white low-grammage kraft papers per year to be marketed under Heinzel Group’s Starkraft brand.
“With this investment, Starkraft will become the world’s leading brand for bleached and unbleached kraft papers,” said Werner Hartmann, COO of Zellstoff Pöls, where Heinzel Group already produces 200,000 tonnes of kraft papers.
“We are excited to expand our product portfolio for all relevant packaging segments, especially for so-called flexpack and food applications.”
Heinzel Group operates across four sites in Europe, producing market pulp, packaging paper, and magazine paper, and it trades in in cellulose, paper, recycled fibre, and packaging products.
