Tissue World Magazine
Alexandra Stuthridge, Technical Business Manager, BioProducts Institute (BPI)

Germany’s WEPA Group has taken over Arjowiggins Greenfield plant in Chateau-Thierry, France.

The company’s WEPA Hygieneprodukte division has been awarded to take over the business activities of the Arjowiggins Greenfield plant in Chateau-Thierry, France.

The decision was made by the commercial court of Nanterre on 29 March 2019.

The Greenfield mill is part of the Graphic Paper division of the French Arjowiggins Group, which filed for insolvency along with its two sister companies in January 2019.

With 74 staff, the plant has a yearly production capacity of around 130,000 tonnes of de-inked pulp for various applications such as graphic paper and tissue.

Martin Krengel, chief executive of the WEPA Group, said: “As a family business we have an overall sustainable orientation and the use of recovered paper is an essential component of our raw material strategy.

“With the takeover of the Greenfield mill we further strengthen our position as a European private label tissue specialist and as a market leader in the field of recycled papers.

“In addition, we ensure our long-term supply with de-inked pulp.”

The WEPA Group is the third largest supplier in the European tissue market with an annual turnover of around €1.2bn.

It employs around 3,800 people at twelve locations throughout Europe, including two plants in France with about 700 employees. It also has a sales office in Chicago, USA.