CENTER OF EXCELLENCE IGPA Altmark Industrial and Commercial Park

Mercer

Mercer Stendal is an integral part of the bioeconomy

The world is changing. We are moving away from products and processes based on fossil fuels toward sustainable, bio-based solutions – to protect the climate, the environment and biological diversity. Mercer Stendal, the most productive pulp mill in continental Europe, is part of this solution. We are an integral part of the bioeconomy, which aims to replace fossil fuels with renewables. The Mercer Stendal production process uses wood, a renewable raw material from sustainably managed forests.

Mercer Stendal also generates bioenergy from solid biomass. The source of this energy is biogenic carbon in the wood, which cannot be used to produce bioproducts such as pulp, tall oil, turpentine or methanol. This way, we supply our entire energy-intensive production with our own electrical bioenergy and thermal energy. Surplus electricity is fed into the public grid as green electricity.

Mercer Stendal is actively working toward the transition to a circular, carbon-neutral economy. We contribute our specialist knowledge in joint projects with partners from business, science and research. Together, we are working on developing the innovative bioextracts and biomaterials of the future and, crucially, on forging practical links between economy and ecology, by developing production methods that can be implemented on a large industrial scale. To achieve this, Mercer works very closely with many research institutes, such as the Fraunhofer Institute, the University of Munich, the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, and the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences. Mercer Stendal is also a member of the BioEconomy Cluster.

Sofidel Group

The Sofidel Group is a world-leading manufacturer of tissue paper for sanitary and domestic use and was founded in Italy in 1966. The group has subsidiaries in 12 countries in Europe and in the U.S. With over 6,000 employees and a production capacity of over a million metric tons a year, the group achieves net sales figures of 1,919 million euros (2019).

As a member of the UN Global Compact and the international WWF Climate Savers program, the Sofidel Group sees sustainability as a strategic growth factor and is committed to protecting the environment and supporting social causes. With targets based on international agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, Sofidel is making a vital contribution to limit global warming to well below 2 °C.

Sofidel Germany GmbH, a subsidiary of the Sofidel Group, currently has a workforce of around 800. The German company’s headquarters are in Schmalkalden (Thuringia). A further production facility is located in Arneburg (Saxony-Anhalt). In addition, there is a sales outlet in Cologne, which is an independent branch office. The company produces and sells tissue paper such as toilet paper, kitchen towels, paper towels and tissues, as well as medical and industrial paper towels, and supplies all well-known retail chains in Germany and elsewhere. In order to continually strengthen and expand its market position, Sofidel Germany GmbH invests in modern production systems and always takes pains to maintain high quality standards, protect the environment and ensure the sustainable use of resources.

For more than 15 years, the company’s site in Arneburg has focused on producing paper in our state-of-the-art paper machine and further processing paper on numerous further processing lines. Here, we produce up to 60,000 tons of tissue paper and further process up to 90,000 tons.

Arneburg Biomethane Refinery

The Altmark Industrial and Commercial Park is home to one of Germany’s largest biomethane refineries, which has been feeding gas into the public grid since 2013. With four digesters of 4,900 m3, six digestate storage tanks of 5,000 m3 and a liquid reservoir, the plant, which covers six hectares, produces 1,550 standard m3 of raw biogas an hour. Of this raw material, 200 m3 is used for heating the plant.

Using a chemical amine scrubbing process, the gas is converted into around 700 standard m3 of processed biomethane, with a methane content of 99 percent – enough to supply 5,000 homes with electricity and heat. To achieve this, 70,000 tons of substrates a year are fed into the stainless steel digesters by a solid matter dosing feeder.