PaperAge Magazine

WEPA Group Takes Over Arjowiggins Recycled Pulp Mill in France

Greenfield Mill in Chateau-Thierry, France The Greenfield Mill, located in Chateau-Thierry, France, has the capacity to produce about 130,000 tons per year of deinked pulp.

April 18, 2019 - WEPA Hygieneprodukte GmbH, headquartered in Arnsberg, Germany, has been awarded to take over the business activities of the Arjowiggins Greenfield Mill in Chateau-Thierry, France. The decision was taken by the commercial court of Nanterre on Friday, 29 March 2019.

The Greenfield mill is part of the Graphic Paper division of the French Arjowiggins Group and filed insolvency together with two sister companies in January 2019. With 74 employees, the plant has a yearly production capacity of approx. 130,000 tons of deinked pulp for various applications such as graphic paper and tissue.

Martin Krengel, CEO of the WEPA Group, says, “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 (www.wepa.de) is the third largest supplier in the European tissue market with an annual turnover of approx. EUR 1.2 billion. The family business employs around 3,800 people at twelve locations throughout Europe, including two plants in France with about 700 employees. By integrating the Greenfield site, WEPA expands its capacity in the processing of recovered paper and further optimizes its supply chain ensuring to meet the high demand for recycled and hybrid (a combination of recycled and pure pulp) tissue products on a high quality and sustainability base.

SOURCE: WEPA Group

About Greenfield Mill
Greenfield Mill was built in 1997 and acquired by Arjowiggins Graphic in 2008. Greenfield is the European leader in premium quality recycled pulp production, the mill is FSC® certified and also certified by the French Water Agency for effluent and waste management. Source: Arjowiggins.