Thuringia’s Minister for Economic Affairs Boos-John Visits Koehler Paper in Greiz
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Colette Boos-John (CDU), Thuringia’s Minister for Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Rural Areas, re-cently paid a visit to Koehler Paper’s site in Greiz.
Together with Dr. Ulli Schäfer, Chief Administrative Officer (Landrat) of the Greiz district, and Peter Höhne, Managing Director of the IHK Ostthüringen Gera Chamber of Industry and Commerce, she took advantage of the opportunity to learn more about the company’s climate strategy on the occasion of a forum held by IHK Ostthüringen Gera. During the conversation, she also inquired about the obstacles in the way of local wind farm projects in Thuringia.
The Minister of the Environment, Climate Protection, and Energy welcomed the Koehler Group’s ambitious environmental and climate strategy
Minister Colette Boos-John was impressed by the family business’ ability to adapt and transform: “It’s thrilling to see how a family-owned company is really driving the transition to a climate-friendly future, especially in the way it’s pursuing greater independence when it comes to meeting its own power needs.” During the discussion, all parties agreed that energy prices need to be competitive if production is to be kept in Germany. Udo Hollbach, the Managing Director of the Koehler Paper Greiz mill, clarified that energy prices are a powerful lever that can be used to noticeably improve the German industry’s situation and ensure job security.
Politics and business come together to discuss energy and climate strategy
The company’s management explicitly mentioned that there is a concrete need for action at the political level. Udo Hollbach, Managing Director of the Koehler Paper site Greiz, had the following to say: “As a business, we need planning reliability. When it comes to the self-supply of green energy within the industry, as is being called for by politicians, we are facing immense challenges here in Greiz. Converting the power plant at Koehler’s site in Thuringia to fine wood fraction will save more than 24,000 metric tonnes of CO2 per year, and represents another step towards achieving the goals set out in the Koehler Group’s Climate Strategy.
