What Zellstoff Pols does

Zellstoff Pöls AG is an Austrian pulp and paper manufacturer headquartered in Pöls, Styria, and operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Heinzel Holding GmbH, the privately held Heinzel Group. The company runs a single integrated site that produces two flagship product lines: ORION long-fiber sulfate pulp (NBSK) at approximately 480,000 tonnes per year, and STARKRAFT kraft paper at 340,000 tonnes per year. Production uses the sulfate (kraft) process with elemental chlorine-free bleaching, and the plant is energy-autarkic through combined heat and power generation fueled by black liquor combustion (47 MW green electricity, 7 MW district heating output). The site operates the world's largest kraft paper machines, including a 6.7-meter-diameter Yankee Cylinder supplied by Andritz AG.

The company serves B2B industrial customers including printing and writing paper manufacturers, packaging converters producing carrier bags, pouches, food packaging and medical packaging, and supplies renewable district heating to roughly 15,000 households across four local municipalities. Sales are executed primarily through sister company Wilfried Heinzel AG (heinzelsales), a global trading organization reaching 43+ markets, supplemented by Europapier International AG for mid-market CEE converters. Pricing is negotiated under multi-year B2B contracts with terms published as standard Sales and Delivery Conditions; price transparency is constrained by quote-based, volume- and spec-tied negotiations.

Zellstoff Pöls has executed a sustained multi-year capacity expansion program totaling more than EUR 245 million in capital deployment (PM2 in 2013, PM3 in 2019, EUR 42M pulp expansion 2020, PM6 at Steyrermühl in 2024), and added a brown (unbleached) pulp product line alongside its traditional bleached NBSK offering. The company holds top 5% EcoVadis Gold sustainability status (2025 and 2026), is listed on the CDP Climate Change A List (2024), and is a member of the 4evergreen Alliance and EPIS. As part of the family-controlled Heinzel Group, the company is not publicly listed; its parent group includes related pulp, paper, distribution, and recycling assets across Central Europe.

Name

Zellstoff Pols

Legal name

Zellstoff Pöls AG

Website

https://zellstoff-poels.at

Company type

Private

Founded year

1700

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Zellstoff Pöls AG is an Austrian manufacturer of ORION long-fiber sulfate pulp (~480,000 tonnes/year) and STARKRAFT kraft paper (340,000 tonnes/year), supplying paper manufacturers and packaging converters across 43+ European and Mediterranean markets as a subsidiary of the Heinzel Group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pulp and Paper Manufacturing

NAICS

Pulp Mills (322110), Paper Mills (322120)

SIC

Pulp Mills (2611), Paper Mills (2621)

akta.pro primary industry

Market Pulp (Bleached Hardwood/Softwood Kraft) (IMAMADAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Solid Unbleached Sulfate (SUS) Paperboard Manufacturing (IMAMAFAG)

Keywords

• Sulfate pulp manufacturing
• Kraft paper production
• ECF bleached pulp
• Industrial packaging materials
• Softwood pulp supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Pols

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Pulp Sales (ORION): Sale of bleached and unbleached long-fiber sulfate pulp (NBSK) to paper manufacturers. Pulp production capacity of approximately 480,000 tonnes per year.
2. Kraft Paper Sales (STARKRAFT): Sale of premium bleached and unbleached kraft paper for industrial packaging applications. Paper production capacity of 340,000 tonnes per year across multiple paper machines.
3. District Heating Supply: Sale of renewable district heating to local communities (Pöls, Fohnsdorf, Judenburg, Zeltweg) generated from waste heat recovery. Currently supplying approximately 7.0 MW.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Zellstoff Pöls AG produces elemental chlorine-free (ECF) bleached and unbleached long-fiber softwood sulfate pulp (NBSK) under the ORION brand (approximately 480,000 tonnes/year) and premium kraft paper under the STARKRAFT brand (approximately 340,000 tonnes/year) for industrial packaging applications. The integrated Pöls mill in Styria, Austria, operates the world's largest kraft paper machines, runs energy-autonomically through combined heat and power generation, and supplies district heating to surrounding municipalities.

Product overview

Zellstoff Pöls AG operates as a pulp and paper manufacturer producing two core product lines: ORION long-fiber sulfate pulp (approximately 480,000 tons annually) and STARKRAFT kraft paper (340,000 tons annually). The company also operates the vemap B2B supplier portal for supply chain management. As a member of the Heinzel Group, the company serves the Central and Eastern European market from its Pöls, Styria location.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ORION Zellstoff / ORION Pulp: High-quality long-fiber sulfate pulp (bleached and unbleached), produced at approximately 480,000 tonnes per year, used for printing and writing papers, newsprint, tissue, labels, and specialty papers.
• STARKRAFT Paper
• STARKRAFT
• vemap

Products and services

• ORION Pulp
• STARKRAFT Paper
• District Heating Supply
• ORION Bleached Sulfate Pulp (NBSK)
• ORION Unbleached (Brown) Sulfate Pulp

Quantifiable outcome

• Produces 480,000 tonnes/year of high-quality long-fiber sulfate pulp
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• 4evergreen AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHeinzel Group is a member of the 4evergreen alliance, which strives to increase the share of fiber-based packaging to sustainably reduce climate and environmental impact. The alliance aims to increase knowledge and raise awareness of fiber-based materials advantages, and advocates for optimized collection systems and recycling infrastructure. Members span the entire fiber-based packaging value chain including paper, board, packaging producers, technology suppliers, waste sorting companies, and retailers.
• EPIS (European Pulp Industry Sector)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHeinzel Group is a member of EPIS and supports the #GreenSource initiative to promote the role of forest-fibre industries in achieving EU climate neutrality target by 2050.
• bioenergy - heat services, KöflachcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture partner in Bioenergy Aichfeld district heating project. bioenergy contributed expertise in district heating and waste heat recovery systems, combining with Zellstoff Pöls AG's waste heat from pulp production. The 18 million euro project supplies 15,000 households with sustainable heating.
• CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project)minorOthersHeinzel Group participates in CDP's Climate Change program and was recognized on the 2024 Climate Change A List for leadership in corporate climate transparency and action.
• Andritz AGcoreTechnology or IntegrationAndritz AG supplied the paper machines (PM2, PM3) installed at Zellstoff Pöls. Delivered the world's largest Yankee Cylinder (6.7m diameter, 150 tons) for the PM2 paper machine construction.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Suzano S.A. Suzano is the world's largest market pulp producer and a major kraft paper manufacturer based in Brazil. As a global low-cost integrated pulp and kraft paper player, it sets the global benchmark pricing for NBSK pulp and competes for packaging paper customers with Zellstoff Pöls in Europe.
• Mondi plc: Mondi is a European integrated pulp and paper packaging group producing market pulp, kraft paper, and containerboard. It is a broad incumbent with overlapping product categories (market pulp, kraft paper) and serves many of the same European paper and packaging customers as Zellstoff Pöls.
• Stora Enso Oyj: Stora Enso is a leading European pulp and paperboard manufacturer with significant market pulp (NBSK) capacity and packaging paperboard grades. As one of Europe's largest integrated forest products companies, it competes directly with Zellstoff Pöls in pulp and kraft-based packaging materials.
• UPM-Kymmene Corporation: UPM is a major European forest products company with integrated pulp, paper, and biomaterials operations. It produces market pulp and kraft/specialty papers and competes for the same printing/writing, label, and packaging customers as Zellstoff Pöls in European markets.

Direct peers

• AS Estonian Cell: AS Estonian Cell is a Heinzel Group subsidiary operating a dissolving and paper pulp mill in Estonia. It is a direct pulp-manufacturing peer within the Heinzel platform, sharing group sales channels and benefiting from the same energy/biogas sustainability investments.
• Billerud AB: Billerud is a Swedish specialty paper and packaging board producer focused on kraft paper, sack paper, and cartonboard. It is a direct competitor in unbleached and bleached kraft paper grades serving food packaging, carrier bag, and medical packaging applications similar to STARKRAFT.
• Laakirchen Papier AG: Laakirchen Papier is a sister company within the Heinzel Group producing SC and LWC magazine papers at a single Austrian site. As a fellow Heinzel subsidiary, it shares group sales channels (heinzelsales) and is a closely comparable operating peer within the same corporate platform.
• Sappi Limited: Sappi is a global specialty paper and dissolving pulp producer with European mills producing coated woodfree papers, specialty packaging, and market pulp. It is a direct peer competing for graphic paper, label, and packaging customers in Europe with comparable long-fiber pulp and kraft paper positioning.
• Mercer International Inc. Mercer International operates market pulp mills producing NBSK and NBHK pulp primarily for sale to paper manufacturers. As a pure-play market pulp producer with comparable long-fiber sulfate (kraft) product, it is a direct peer for ORION pulp in global pulp markets.
• Raubling Papier GmbH: Raubling Papier is a Heinzel Group subsidiary operating a paper mill in Bavaria acquired from Mondi in 2016. As a fellow Heinzel production subsidiary with shared commercial infrastructure, it is an internal comparable for Zellstoff Pöls' kraft paper operations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xfacebook.com/WerkskapellePoels
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/heinzel-group

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Zellstoff Pols