Papermaking has a long tradition in Gengenbach, dating back to the Middle Ages. From 1490 to 1705, the "papiermühlin beym gutleuthaus" produced paper of the highest quality, which was supplied mainly to printers in Strasbourg, but also to merchants in northern Germany, Holland and Belgium.
Albert Köhler, together with his partner Jakob Marz, acquires the Gengenbach cardboard factory built in 1873. As the partnership agreement shows, the beginnings are modest. Nevertheless, a strawboard factory is built next to the handmade cardboard factory in the same year.
Together with a partner, the Gengenbach cardboard factory, built in 1873, is acquired. As the partnership agreement shows, the beginnings are modest. Nevertheless, a strawboard factory is built next to the hand-made cardboard factory in the same year.
The company begins manufacturing luminous metal and glass mosaics in order to make economic use of the months when cardboard drying is not possible due to poor weather conditions. However, the company does not achieve the hoped-for financial success and production is discontinued.
The Köhler company builds company flats for its workers, unusual for the time.
During the Second World War, production initially continued. One after the other, straw and handmade cardboard production had to be discontinued in 1944/45 due to a lack of coal, raw materials and labour. On 18 April 1945, Gengenbach was occupied by the French.
In 1946/47, cardboard production was able to resume.
Strawboard production is completely discontinued. Strawboard no longer meets the demands of customers.
A new, larger hall is being built over the old automation hall before the old building is demolished. This way, the machines remain protected and production can continue almost unhindered despite the reconstruction.
A small museum is being set up in the former turbine house of the Köhler company, housing documents, pictures and objects from the company's long history.
The Köhler Company supports the art project "Forms of Hierarchy" of the Fashion Design Department of the University of Applied Sciences Trier, which is realised in cooperation with the Association of German Paper Factories. The fashion made of paper and cardboard will be presented at a show in Frankfurt am Main in November 1997. The "Warrior" and "High Priest" models made from Köhler products are exhibited in the Köhler company museum.
In order to protect the environment and reduce the increased wastewater costs, we invested in a new wastewater treatment plant in 2010. With Siemens Industrie Solutions, we had a competent partner and developer at our side. A completely new type of water treatment plant was created for the cardboard industry worldwide, which had to be integrated into the running cycle and the existing plant.
In the course of renewals in the company, the old angular circular shear 1 was dismantled. The new angular circular shear (WKS 3) from the Kolbus company was put into operation on 04th October 2019.
The GmbH & Co. KG is being converted into a GmbH. As part of this process, there will be a change in management.
With the dismantling of gluing machine 2 on 17th September 2021, a long-standing and successful production field will come to an end for us. Köhlerpappen GmbH is thus reacting to current market developments. However, our adhesive products will remain in the range and will be produced for us by an adhesive specialist.
Last roll production on the fourdrinier machine and dismantling of the reel on the fourdrinier machine.
In 2023, Köhlerpappen GmbH celebrated its 150th anniversary. Since 1873, the company has stood for quality, reliability and continuous development. Generations of employees and partners have shaped this success story. The anniversary is both an incentive and an obligation to responsibly combine tradition and the future.
11 March 2025 marks a dark day in the history of Köhlerpappen GmbH. High energy costs, volatile raw material prices, a significant decline in demand and structural problems led to the company filing for insolvency. This turning point stands in stark contrast to the company's long tradition and represents a profound change.
On 1 January 2026, Christian and Yannic Geiger will take over Köhlerpappen GmbH and secure all jobs. Christian has been successfully managing sales for decades, while his son Yannic brings experience from an international consultancy as a business economist.
The restructuring team at the law firm BSK Berbuer Speier Kuhn, led by insolvency administrator Dr André Berbuer, succeeded in comprehensively restructuring the company despite considerable adversity. The causes of the financial difficulties were eliminated, a viable concept for the future was developed and redundancies were avoided.
As part of the restructuring process, the town of Gengenbach also purchased the company premises, laying the foundations for a stable future. Köhlerpappen thus remains a family-owned company in the Ortenau region with clear prospects for the future.
Our planet Earth obliges us to be sustainable. We cannot continue to rigorously exploit nature we must begin to understand and to respect it. Köhlerpappen accepts this environmental challenge.
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