heinzelsales

What heinzelsales does

heinzelsales, legally Wilfried Heinzel AG, is the global pulp, paper and board trading arm of the family-owned Heinzel Group, headquartered in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1948 by Wilfried Heinzel as a single-truck barter and chemical-import business, it has grown into one of the world's leading trading houses in the forest products industry, distributing 2.26 million tons of pulp, paper and board in 2025 across more than 115 customer countries while sourcing from 35 supplier countries. The company operates seven wholly-owned sales subsidiaries (Heinzel Import-Export/USA, Heinzel Sales Canada, Heinzel Sales Asia Pacific, and country entities in Italy, France, Germany and Poland) plus liaison offices covering a further 20+ markets across Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australia, with invoicing centers in New York, Vancouver and Kuala Lumpur alongside the Vienna headquarters. Products are organized into three categories — pulp (hardwood, softwood, eucalyptus, fluff, dissolving), paper (publication, graphic, kraft, sack kraft, specialty), and board (containerboard and cartonboard, virgin and recycled) — supplemented by services in global sourcing, tailored order handling, logistics, trade finance and risk management, local market knowledge, and certifications support. Sub-brands (starboard, starkraft, grapho, orion) are distributed from Heinzel Group's own mills (Laakirchen Papier, Zellstoff Pöls, Estonian Cell, Steyrermühl).

heinzelsales generates revenue primarily through trading margins on transaction fees, with quotes priced on volume, product specifications and prevailing market conditions in a B2B model. The go-to-market motion is enterprise field sales: a workforce of 137–153 employees (90 based at Vienna HQ, drawn from 36 nationalities speaking 39 languages) maintains direct relationships with global and local pulp and paper producers on the supply side and with converters, printers, publishers and packaging producers on the demand side, complemented by the broader Heinzel Group distribution network (Europapier International AG in Central/Eastern Europe, Bunzl & Biach GmbH for recycled paper). Distribution is direct via the company's own offices and liaison offices, with no digital marketplace or app-layer presence. The firm holds the CDP Climate Change A List (2024), Austria's Best Managed Companies recognition (2021), and a 25% strategic stake in Paracel S.A.'s Paraguay eucalyptus pulp project signed in 2022, while the Heinzel Group completed the acquisition of the Steyrermühl paper mill from UPM on January 1, 2024.

The current CEO is Krunoslav Meic (appointed April 2022), who progressed internally from a 2011 sales trainee through Sales Director Russia; the CFO is Dietmar Geigl (in role since March 2010). Ownership rests with Heinzel Holding GmbH, controlled by the Heinzel family since Alfred Heinzel's 1991 leveraged buyout, with Sebastian Heinzel (fourth generation) as CEO of the parent group since April 2022. The company does not disclose standalone financial results, has no app or API product, and shows no AI/ML capability in the disclosed data; technology investments are limited to conventional ERP (an S4-HANA implementation is in preparation) and standard logistics/finance tooling.

Name

heinzelsales

Legal name

Wilfried Heinzel AG

Website

https://heinzelsales.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1948

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

heinzelsales is the Vienna-based global pulp, paper and board trading network of family-owned Heinzel Group, distributing 2.26 million tons annually to 115+ countries via wholly-owned subsidiaries and liaison offices in 28 countries, serving producers, converters, printers and packaging companies worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pulp, Paper and Board Trading

NAICS

Paper and Paper Product Merchant Wholesalers (4241)

SIC

Wholesale-Paper & Paper Products (5110)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYIMAMADAA

Market Pulp (Bleached Hardwood/Softwood Kraft)

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Paper & Forest Products/Pulp Manufacturing

Keywords

• Pulp trading
• Paper distribution
• Containerboard sales
• Global forest products
• Board marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Vienna

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Pulp, Paper & Board Trading: Distribution of pulp, paper and board products to customers in more than 100 countries worldwide. Partners with global and local pulp and paper producers. Revenue generated through trading margins on product sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

heinzelsales is a global B2B sales network that trades and distributes pulp, paper and board products on behalf of pulp and paper producers to industrial customers in more than 115 countries. It combines product distribution with end-to-end supply-chain services including global sourcing, logistics (sea, land, warehousing), trade finance, risk management and hedging, documentation/order handling and local-language customer support.

Product overview

heinzelsales is a global sales network for pulp and paper, operating as a trading company that connects suppliers and customers worldwide. The company offers three main product categories: Pulp (including Hardwood, Softwood, Eucalyptus, Fluff Pulp, and Dissolving Pulp), Paper (including publication papers, graphic writing papers, kraft papers, sack kraft, and specialty papers), and Board (including containerboard and cartonboard for corrugated and cartonboard packaging). In addition to third-party products, heinzelsales distributes products from Heinzel Group's own mills including heinzelpulp (Zellstoff Pöls), heinzelpaper (Laakirchen Papier), Estonian Cell, and Starkraft. The company also provides services including Global Sourcing, Tailored Support, Logistics, Financial Solutions, Local Know-how, and Certifications support. The business model centers on building bridges between pulp and paper producers and customers globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 2.26 million tons sold in 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Steyrermühl paper mill (acquired from UPM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Successfully completed acquisition of Steyrermühl paper mill from UPM on January 1, 2024. Site to be developed into hub for sustainable packaging papers and renewable energy together with neighboring Laakirchen mill.
• Firgos Malaysia (renamed Heinzel Sales Asia Pacific)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Acquired in 2018. Paper trading company in Southeast Asia with offices in Malaysia and Vietnam. Renamed to Heinzel Sales Asia Pacific in 2019. Key addition to global network.
• SCAminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Heinzel Group acquired Laakirchen mill from SCA in 2013. heinzelsales entered a global sales partnership with SCA.
• North Rim Pulp and Paper (renamed Heinzel Sales Canada)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Acquired in 2011 in Vancouver, Canada. Strategically located in a market dominated by pulp producers from major Canadian forest companies. Rebranded to Heinzel Sales Canada in 2020.
• Europapier International AGcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPart of Heinzel Group. Leading paper merchanting company in Central and Eastern Europe. Responds to diverse customer requirements internationally.
• Bunzl & Biach GmbHcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPart of Heinzel Group. Largest recycled paper company in Austria and a top wholesaler in Central and Eastern Europe. Ensures recycled fiber supply for Laakirchen mill.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Mondi Group: Integrated pulp and paper manufacturer with significant own merchanting/sales operations; overlaps with heinzelsales as a supplier of containerboard and kraft papers but also competes by selling directly to converters.
• Marubeni Corporation: Japanese trading house with an established pulp, paper and forest-products business moving containerboard, printing papers and pulp across regions; comparable as a competitor trader but within a broader diversified portfolio.
• Sumitomo Corporation: Japanese general trading company with a forest-products and paper trading arm handling pulp, printing papers and packaging materials worldwide; comparable in pulp/paper distribution but part of a much larger group.
• ITOCHU Corporation: Japanese general trading company (sogo shosha) with a major forest-products and pulp/paper division trading globally; comparable in pulp/paper trading activity but operates as a much broader diversified conglomerate rather than a specialist.
• UPM-Kymmene Corporation: Major European integrated pulp and paper producer (and former owner of Steyrermühl mill now owned by Heinzel); comparable as a major producer whose volumes flow through heinzelsales and whose direct sales partially overlap.

Direct peers

• Inapa: Portugal-headquartered European paper merchant distributing printing, writing, packaging and specialty papers to resellers and converters; highly comparable in business model, customer type and product breadth.
• Antalis: One of Europe's largest paper, packaging and visual communication distributors with operations across multiple countries; directly comparable as a continental paper merchant that aggregates supply and serves converters and printers.
• Bunzl & Biach GmbH: Sister company within Heinzel Group and Austria's largest recycled paper company; closely comparable as a pulp/paper wholesaler with overlapping supplier and customer relationships in the same forest-products value chain.
• Europapier International AG: Sister company within Heinzel Group and one of the largest paper merchants in Central and Eastern Europe; directly comparable as a paper merchanting/distribution business serving similar converters, printers and publishers across the region.
• Spicers UK: UK office and paper merchant distributing printing, packaging and specialty papers to commercial printers and resellers; comparable as a specialist paper distributor serving similar B2B customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/heinzelsales.asiapacific.984
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/heinzelsales

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about heinzelsales