Strategic safeguarding of the value chain. Koehler Group acquires logistics expert Klumpp + Müller

Oberkirch, December 12, 2025 – The Koehler Group, a manufacturer of specialty paper and renewable energy, has acquired 100% of the shares in the Kehl-based logistics company Klumpp + Müller through its newly established subsidiary, Koehler Logistics GmbH. With this move, the company is sustainably strengthening the logistics chain for pulp—a raw material that is essential to paper production.

Founded in 1953, Klumpp + Müller—with more than 150 employees at the Port of Kehl—is a globally active logistics company with a trimodal focus that is unique in the region, always striving to offer customers comprehensive transport solutions through its broad portfolio. Each year, approximately 500,000 tons of goods are transported by water, 150,000 tons by rail, and approximately 100,000 general cargo shipments are handled through the Cargoline general cargo cooperative. In addition, Klumpp + Müller offers direct transport services to all destinations across Europe, as well as an extensive range of warehouse and logistics space with up to 20,000 pallet spaces.

Koehler Paper, a company of the Koehler Group, and Klumpp + Müller have been working closely together for over 65 years. The focus of the collaboration is on the delivery of pulp from South America, the Iberian Peninsula, and Scandinavia. Pulp is the primary raw material for paper production, which takes place at Koehler Paper’s sites in Oberkirch and Kehl. In recent years, maintaining a secure and reliable supply chain has increasingly become both a challenge and a key differentiator from the competition. Kai Furler, CEO of the Koehler Group, emphasizes: “Our customers worldwide value us, among other things, for our reliability and on-time delivery. With the acquisition of Klumpp + Müller, we are securing the strategically important trimodal access at the Port of Kehl and thereby ensuring the long-term supply of our plants.”

Both sides describe the even closer business integration resulting from the acquisition as a logical, forward-looking step. “Both the Koehler Group and Klumpp + Müller are family-owned businesses. That’s why we think and act in terms of generations and are not focused on short-term profits,” says Furler, explaining the paper manufacturer’s deeper involvement in the logistics sector. Lotte Klumpp, a partner at Klumpp + Müller, adds: “Family-owned businesses share the same values, the same long-term mindset, and a commitment to the region and its people. By merging our two companies, we have closed the long-term family succession gap and, in our view, placed Klumpp + Müller in the best possible hands.” Lotte Klumpp’s husband, Dieter Klumpp, who passed away a few years ago, had originally taken over the logistics company from his father together with his brother and, with the support of his youngest brother Michael Klumpp since 2008, had expanded it into a modern, internationally active logistics service provider.

There will be no change to Klumpp + Müller’s operational independence or to its existing customer relationships. As a result of the acquisition, neither the Koehler Group nor Klumpp + Müller plans to reduce its workforce in the logistics divisions of either company. Rather, the significant potential for synergies will be leveraged to drive mutual business expansion. The acquisition is subject to the necessary antitrust review.

Source: kopfmedia.

The Koehler Group was founded in 1807 and has been family-owned and operated from the very beginning to the present day. The Group’s core business lies in the development and production of high-quality specialty papers. These include thermal papers, playing card stock, beverage coasters, fine papers, self-copying papers, recycled papers, decorative papers, wood pulp board, sublimation papers, and innovative specialty papers for the packaging industry. In Germany, the Koehler Group, with its approximately 2,500 employees, operates five production sites; three additional sites are located in the United States. The Group operates internationally; in 2024, exports accounted for approximately 70 percent of its business, with annual revenue of 1.1 billion euros.

As an energy-intensive company, Koehler, through its Koehler Renewable Energy division, invests in renewable energy projects such as wind power, hydropower, photovoltaics, and biomass. The Koehler Group has set a goal of producing, on a net basis, more energy from renewable sources than is required for paper production by 2030.

Through its Koehler Innovative Solutions division, the Koehler Group collaborates with startups to promote innovation in its core business areas of paper and renewable energy.