Pfleiderer closes panel mills

Pfleiderer AG has approved the closure of its Ebersdorf particleboard plant and Nidda MDF mill as it seeks to safeguard its future and concentrate on value-added products.

The closures will affect around 300 employees at the factories, as well as at offices in Neumarkt and Gütersloh.

Pfleiderer said alternative outcomes for Ebersdorf were rejected, though alternative uses were still being sought with possible strategic investors, irrespective of the discontinuation of MDF production at Nidda.

“This is a bitter decision for those concerned, but regrettably unavoidable in view of the substantial overcapacities for particleboard and MDF in Europe,” said Pfleiderer chairman Hans Overdiek.

“With the well-being of the German business in mind, this consolidation was unavoidable in the long term.”

Mr Overdiek said continual price increases in raw materials, including wood and adhesive, plus energy costs, had also influenced the closure decisions.

Delivery of particleboard from Ebersdorf stopped at the end of December, while production at Nidda will cease at the end of June.

Pfleiderer is currently negotiating the sale of the machinery and sites with interested parties, who are said to be looking at manufacturing other products.

It expects to net about €25m from the sale of plant and property.