German paper mills are under pressure from rising energy prices. As many are forced to close, one mill near Hamburg is fighting the trend with its own power plant that produces enough energy to sell excess power.
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00:00It used to be terribly loud here, but no more.
00:05The Meldorf paper mill near Hamburg is bankrupt.
00:09High energy costs and falling prices for paper products have ruined the long-running company.
00:15One hundred and thirty employees lost their job.
00:18One of them is Rolf Schneider.
00:21Today he's cleaning up, preparing for one last fire sale.
00:28It's tough losing your job after 29 years of working here.
00:33It's tough to give up your job to sign those papers the insolvency administrator sent over.
00:39Schneider is one of the last few people here.
00:42He's part of a 25-person crew tasked with winding down operations,
00:47the dismantling machines, clearing out what's left.
00:51The company's downfall was mostly due to rising prices for gas and electricity.
00:56Tied to Russia's war in Ukraine and sanctions against the aggressor.
01:01The company's energy bill more than doubled in that time, says manager Ulrike Lemm,
01:06who tried to change course and even developed new products like paper made from grass clippings.
01:16First it looked promising, but then demand slowed down.
01:20It looks like our businesses are not yet ready for alternatives to paper.
01:25At least we would have needed more time.
01:31Thirty kilometers up the Elbe river stands another paper mill, Steinbeis Paper.
01:36Here the machines are running.
01:39High energy costs aren't a problem.
01:42The company's own power plant produces electricity and heat, and all without expensive gas.
01:49The main difference is the energy source.
01:52We're using whatever is left over in paper processing, so we're looking at different price mechanisms.
01:59So volatility in energy markets has not impacted us.
02:06The company has its own wind, solar and biogas sources.
02:10Recently a second power plant was added.
02:13It burns lumber scraps and excess paper.
02:16Now with two plants, the company can even sell energy and remain globally competitive.
02:24We're still competitive, even when energy prices fall again.
02:28Even in years when gas cost us only two or three cents per kilowatt hour,
02:33we still had a price advantage over the competition.
02:38Back to the Meldorf mill.
02:40Forty of its 130 former employees found new jobs.
02:44Some with Steinbeis.
02:46The rest of the machines are being shipped out, likely heading for Asia.