Heinzel has finalised the purchase of UPM's Steyrermühl paper mill and sawmill in Austria.
Austrian Heinzel Group has announced the successful completion of the acquisition of the Steyrermühl mill in Upper Austria from UPM. This strategic move reinforces Heinzel's commitment to sustainability and growth in the paper and packaging industry, the company writes.
As early as in March 2023, the ownership of an idled graphic paper machine in Steyrermühl was transferred to Heinzel, which started to convert the mill to produce up to 150,000 tpy of brown and white low-grammage kraft papers of Heinzel’s starkraft brand. The conversion project, which is well on track according to Heinzel, is scheduled to be finalised in the second quarter of 2024.
The mill ceased newsprint paper production in the second quarter of 2023 and lastly had a production capacity of 320.000 tpy of newsprint.
With the closing of the transaction, Heinzel has now also taken over the Steyrermühl sawmill, a local power plant run with biomass and residues, and other facilities. Heinzel plans to develop the Steyrermühl sawmill site into a supply centre for heat and renewable energy for both the neighbouring Laakirchen paper mill and the wider Laakirchen community. Projects include the construction of a second power plant, a large steam pipeline, and the expansion of district heating.
“Our planned investments will not only secure a sustainable future for Steyrermühl and its employees, but they will also help the entire Heinzel Group reduce the use of fossil fuels and reach our ambitious climate targets,” says Sebastian Heinzel, CEO of Heinzel Group.
At five sites in Europe, Heinzel produces market pulp, packaging paper and magazine paper and trades in in cellulose, paper, recycled fibre, and packaging solutions.
