00:00It used to be terribly loud here, but no more.
00:05The Meldorf paper mill near Hamburg is bankrupt.
00:09High energy costs and falling prices for paper products have ruined the long-running company.
00:15One hundred and thirty employees lost their job.
00:18One of them is Rolf Schneider.
00:21Today he's cleaning up, preparing for one last fire sale.
00:28It's tough losing your job after 29 years of working here.
00:33It's tough to give up your job to sign those papers the insolvency administrator sent over.
00:39Schneider is one of the last few people here.
00:42He's part of a 25-person crew tasked with winding down operations,
00:47the dismantling machines, clearing out what's left.
00:51The company's downfall was mostly due to rising prices for gas and electricity.
00:56Tied to Russia's war in Ukraine and sanctions against the aggressor.
01:01The company's energy bill more than doubled in that time, says manager Ulrike Lemm,
01:06who tried to change course and even developed new products like paper made from grass clippings.
01:16First it looked promising, but then demand slowed down.
01:20It looks like our businesses are not yet ready for alternatives to paper.
01:25At least we would have needed more time.
01:31Thirty kilometers up the Elbe river stands another paper mill, Steinbeis Paper.
01:36Here the machines are running.
01:39High energy costs aren't a problem.
01:42The company's own power plant produces electricity and heat, and all without expensive gas.
01:49The main difference is the energy source.
01:52We're using whatever is left over in paper processing, so we're looking at different price mechanisms.
01:59So volatility in energy markets has not impacted us.
02:06The company has its own wind, solar and biogas sources.
02:10Recently a second power plant was added.
02:13It burns lumber scraps and excess paper.
02:16Now with two plants, the company can even sell energy and remain globally competitive.
02:24We're still competitive, even when energy prices fall again.
02:28Even in years when gas cost us only two or three cents per kilowatt hour,
02:33we still had a price advantage over the competition.
02:38Back to the Meldorf mill.
02:40Forty of its 130 former employees found new jobs.
02:44Some with Steinbeis.
02:46The rest of the machines are being shipped out, likely heading for Asia.
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