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History

The Koehler Group can look back on a company history of over 210 years, characterized by success and innovation. The company has been in family hands since 1807.

1800

1807

Otto Koehler purchased Oberkirch´s "Papiermühle im Loh" and Founded what was to become a global Enterprise.

Jacob Pfeil of Ettlingen purchased the paper mill in 1802, but by 1807 he had become insolvent and the mill passed over to Otto Koehler. Although he only worked there for a short time, Pfeil seems to have had to undertake structural improvements on the building. A keystone bearing his initials, the date 1803 and a paper-maker symbol, which was originally set above the door of the mill, testifies to his work.

Koehler can look back on a Long history
first paper machine

1865

First Paper machine - Transition to mechanical manufacturing.

No plans or Pictures of the machine exist anymore. However, in the archives of Mannheim’s District Museum of Engineering and Work there is a Berlin newspaper dated 1884, and it contains an illustration of one of Hemmer’s machines from that time, giving us a rough idea of what a paper-making machine looked like in the second half of the 19th century. The machine had a working width of 135 centimeters.

1879

Water turbines

Water turbines replaced the water-wheels and the paper machine was given a steam engine.

water turbines
employees of koehler

1898

The Workforce tops 100 for the first time

From the time when machine production began in 1865 up until the turn of the 20th century, the workforce had grown from eight to more than 100, and production had risen from around 60 tons to 800 tons per year, to which were added approximately 800 tons of wood pulp in Hubacker. The need for space grew accordingly, and the company expanded in every direction.

1900

1901

Koehler villa

Up until 1901, the paper manufacturer’s apartments had been in his factory, in the western part of the building which was constructed in 1865. But this accommodation was becoming more and more constricted by the business’s growing need for space.
August Koehler managed to purchase a piece of land at the turn of the century. On that piece of land he built a distinguished house – a villa, an external sign of his success.

Koehler Villa
paper machine 2

1911

Commissioning of tub paper machine PM 2
- 185 cm working width

Tub paper machine PM 2 was delivered together with a hollander system made by J.W. Erkens of Niederau by Düren.

1912

Commissioning of Lautenbach power plant

1912 saw the construction of Lautenbach hydroelectric power plant, with two turbines and an output of approximately 450 horsepower. This plant still supplies environmentally friendly electricity up to the present day.

lautenbach power plant

1920

Koehler Logo

1922

The interrupted expansion of the plant continued straight after the end of the War. The old mill canal was diverted to the south and a new power plant, a turbine building with two apartments, was built and two new water turbines entered operation in 1922.

Founding of the Joint stock Company Papierfabrik August Koehler AG

Another key decision was taken in 1922. The company was converted into a joint stock company. August Koehler, his two sisters, the Brüggemann brothers and Willie Euler of Bensheim held shares in its capital.

Investment in W. Euler Papierfabrik GmbH & Co. KG

In return for the investment made by the new shareholder Willie Euler of Bensheim, who was the manager and shareholder of W. Euler Maschinenfabrik AG in the same town, August Koehler invested in his Bensheim company.

1924

Construction of Paper Machine 3

To expand the capacity of his plant, a new hall was constructed in which paper machine 3 was built in 1924 with a 210 centimeter working width. This machine is still in operation today, having been converted and modernized several times.

paper machine 3
coating machine

1934

First Coating Machine

A very important investment was made in 1934 with the construction of the first coating machine. This provided access to a finishing technology which was to unlock the success of the subsequent decades, all the way up to today. It coated playing card board, which means that the production of playing card board began 80 years ago. This product remains an important one for the Koehler fine paper division up to this day.

1940

1942

Power Plant and Chimney

In 1942, a new power plant with a 91.20 meter high chimney was built.

mill oberkirch in 1942

1960

 PM 4

1962

Construction of Paper Machine 4

The new paper machine 4 began operation on 12 October 1962. The 330 centimeter wide machine doubled annual production capacity to 20,000 tons.
Paper machine 4 has been modernized several times since then and now produces almost all of Koehler’s fine paper range.

1965

Koehler decor paper

Over 50 years ago, ‘furniture embellishing paper’ was produced in collaboration with Robert Linnemann in Sassenberg on paper machine 1, later on paper machine 3. A niche product with potential for growth, its development led to what we now call Koehler Decor Paper.

Koehler Decor Paper
reacto Carbonless Paper Logo

1968

reacto®

Reacto-Contract between Pelikan and Koehler; Founding of  Reacto Papier GmbH

1980

1980

 Commisssioning of Paper machine 5

The biggest investment ever made in the company’s history is undertaken and presented to the public in October 1978: paper machine 5 with a working width of 360 centimeters, which was assembled in a newly erected building in 1980.

paper machine 5
new office

1986

Completion of a new Office building

The company moved into new offices in its new administrative building on the other side of Bundesstraße 28 in July 1986.

1987

 Commissioning of Power Plant in Oberkirch

The combined heat and power plant in Oberkirch burns coal and uses an environmentally friendly circulating fluidized bed incineration system, a very modern technology which greatly reduces flue gas emissions. It was the first power plant of this kind to be used in the paper industry.

power plant in oberkirch
construction of kehl mill

1988

Construction of the Kehl Plant - PM 1

A new plant was built on a 80,000 m² plot between 1986 and 1988 at the Rhine River port in Kehl: At the heart of this plant in paper machine 1 with its 420 centimeter working width and a production capacity of around 50,000 tons per year, which produces carbonless paper.
Two hundred new jobs were created in Kehl.

1995

Construction of Coating Machine 1 in Kehl

A new coating machine was built in Kehl in 1995, coating machine 1 with a working width of 420 centimeters and a speed of 1,200 meters per minute.

coating machine 1 in Kehl
Greiz mill

1998

Koehler Greiz

Acquisition of vpg Verpackungspapiere Greiz GmbH in Greiz, Thüringen and Founding of today´s Koehler Greiz Gmbh & Co. KG

2000

2000

Launch of Paper Machine 6 in kehl

Paper machine 6, with a working width of 230 centimeters, which manufactures decor papers, began operation in Kehl in 2000.

paper machine 6 in Kehl for decor paper
Paper Machine 2 in Kehl

2001

Founding of koehler Holding GmbH & co. kg

Koehler Holding GmbH & Co. KG was founded on 11 September 2001, into which the owning families placed almost 95 percent of their shares.

Construction of Paper Machine 2, Coating Machine 2 and Rolling machine 15 at the Kehl Plant

2003

Commissioning of biomass combined heat and power pant in Kehl 

biomass power plant in Kehl
200 years of Koehler

2007

Company Anniversary: 200 Years of Papierfabrik August koehler se

Koehler celebrates its 200th anniversary on 22 August 2007. Gretel Furler and Federal Minister of the Interior Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble were honorary guests at the celebrations in Oberkirch.

2009

Koehler takes over katz-group in weisenbach

The KATZ Group, world market leader in the production of beer coasters, is taken over by Koehler in October 2009.

The Katz Group in Weisenbach
KATZ Coasters
Koehler Energy Group
Koehler Energy Group

2012

Founding of koehler Renewable Energy

Koehler Renewable Energy GmbH was founded in 2012 as a subsidiary of Koehler Holding GmbH & Co. KG. It aims to rise to the challenge of the energy change in Germany and contribute significantly towards its completion.

Papierfabrik August Koehler AG is converted from AG to SE and is henceforth called Papierfabrik August Koehler SE

2016

New Division koehler innovative solutions

Koehler Innovative Solutions is the latest member of Koehler Paper and it develops and manufactures microcapsules for different applications and industries.

Koehler Innovative Solutions
In red: The new paper machine PM 8 / SM 8 in Kehl

2017

Record investment in the Company´s 210-year History

Koehler will invest around half a billion euros in growth by the year 2020:
More than €300 million is also being directed to the Kehl production facility, where Koehler will be creating more than 100 new jobs over the next two years.

2018

NEW PRODUCT DIVISION: PAPER FOR FLEXIBLE PACKAGING

The goal of the record investment of 300 million euros at the Kehl mill is to apply the coating technology know-how acquired over decades in the field of flexible packaging paper. Koehler will produce paper that can replace plastic in flexible packaging.

new production division - paper for flexible packaging
PRODUCTION LINE 8 STARTS OPERATION

2019

PRODUCTION LINE 8 STARTS OPERATION

After a record construction time of less than two years, production line 8 starts operation. It consists of paper machine 8 and coating machine 8, both of which redefine industry standards and primarily produce paper for flexible packaging.

2020

2020

KOEHLER ACQUIRES U.S. BASED BEAVER PAPER & GRAPHIC MEDIA, INC.

Since the beginning of 2020, the US based company Beaver Paper & Graphic Media, Inc., a leading manufacturer of sublimation media to the dye-sublimation and digital printing industry, has been part of Koehler.

Beaver Paper
Koehler Paper

2021

“PAPIERFABRIK AUGUST KOEHLER SE” IS NOW “KOEHLER OBERKIRCH GMBH”

As part of the Koehler Group’s restructuring, “Papierfabrik August Koehler SE” has been converted into “Koehler Oberkirch GmbH.” The change is effective immediately.


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