Rescue for German paper maker

The Schleswig-Holstein paper company Feldmuehle Uetersen has been transferred to a subsidiary of the Berlin-based Beteiligungsgesellschaft Kairos Industries. The move became effective on Friday, 15 June. ‘Feldmuehle GmbH’ has been founded specially for the transfer, which has seen more than 95% of 420 jobs preserved.

"The successful completion of this refurbishment is largely thanks to the dedication, flexibility and responsiveness of the Feldmuehle employees," said Dr. Tjark Thies from the Hamburg law firm Reimer Rechtsanwälte, which concluded the acquisition agreement with Kairos in May this year. At the end of May, the Feldmuehle Works Council approved a 10% salary waiver for employees until 31 December 2019, thereby creating an essential prerequisite for the financing of the acquisition. "Such constructive and responsible behavior is not a matter of course even in insolvency proceedings," said Thies. In addition to the restructuring contribution of the employees, the trustworthy cooperation with Ruppert Fux Landmann, Ernst and Young and the GORG Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwalte also contributed significantly to the successful takeover by Kairos. Feldmuehle Uetersen develops and manufactures label, packaging and graphic papers. In Uetersen, near Hamburg, the company has more than 400 employees and an annual production capacity is about 250,000 tons of paper. It will continue as is under the new ownership of Kairos Industries, a specialist in takeover and operational support of German medium-sized companies in special situations.