German paper producer Feldmuehle is permanently ending paper production at its paper mill in Uetersen, Germany, after 120 years of operation. The company cited market events and an unhelpful regional government as factors in its decision. Feldmuehle, in June of this year, filed for insolvency under self-administration and has since been in the process of restructuring.

In a 9 December 2025 letter, Feldmuehle said, “In recent years, our company has made high-quality, capital-intensive investments in sustainability and energy efficiency. We have optimized and modernized processes, committed ourselves to training the next generation, developed new products and reduced our costs – all in a highly competitive environment.

“We were confident that we would achieve a turnaround. Unfortunately, due to unplanned market events, the inconclusive discussion on industrial electricity prices and ever-increasing new bureaucratic hurdles, we have come to the conclusion that we will no longer be able to continue production at our site in Uetersen in a sufficiently competitive manner in the long term – it is not economically viable to maintain operations.

“It seems that there is no desire for energy-intensive industry to remain in Germany. We have therefore ceased paper production and will be finishing, selling and shipping the paper produced in the coming weeks.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our employees who have supported us over the years – despite many personal sacrifices. They fought to the end and always believed that we could maintain our position in the market in the long term. We would also like to thank our business partners for their decades of trust and excellent cooperation.”