Bunzl & Biach GmbH

Bunzl & Biach GmbH is an Austrian trading company specialising in recovered paper (Altpapier) and related raw materials for the paper industry. Headquartered in Vienna-Floridsdorf, with additional sites in Vienna-Matzleinsdorf and Linz, the company operates through subsidiaries in Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It is jointly owned by Heinzel Holding GmbH (51%) and Essity Austria GmbH (49%), and is the principal recovered paper supplier to the paper mills Laakirchen Papier AG and Essity Austria GmbH. The business traces its origins to 1854, when Moritz Bunzl founded Emanuel Biach's Eidam in Pressburg (now Bratislava). Initially engaged in the 'Hadernhandel' — the collection and preparation of textile waste for the textile and paper industries — the firm expanded from 1883 under a Vienna head office into a network spanning Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. Over the following decades it acquired processing factories, including a paper mill founded in 1917 in Ortmann near Pernitz, Lower Austria. After the break-up of Austria-Hungary in 1918, subsidiaries were established in successor states and further holdings acquired. In 1936 the existing firms were consolidated into Bunzl & Biach AG in Vienna and a Bunzl Holding AG in Zug, Switzerland. The group's owners, six brothers and their families, were persecuted and expropriated after Austria's annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938; the company was 'Aryanised' and renamed Kontropa Kontinentale Rohstoff und Papierindustrie AG in 1941. In 1946 the family regained all Austrian companies. By the company's centenary, the Bunzl group spanned England, America, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and South Africa with nearly 4,000 employees. Following restructuring and changes of ownership, Bunzl & Biach GmbH was established as an independent company in 1990, initially owned 50/50 by SCA Laakirchen AG and SCA Hygiene Products GmbH in Ortmann. In 2013 Heinzel Holding acquired 100% of Laakirchen Papier AG from the SCA group, and through a subsequent share transaction with Essity Austria GmbH, the Heinzel Group indirectly obtained a 51% majority in Bunzl & Biach GmbH. Today Bunzl & Biach describes itself as one of Europe's leading recovered paper groups, annually recycling more than 1,000,000,000 kilograms (one million tonnes) of recovered paper. Its international purchasing department organises more than 50,000 transports per year in Europe, with a traded volume exceeding 250 million euros. The company serves customers, suppliers and cooperation partners across Austria, Germany, Central and Eastern Europe, and beyond, positioning itself as a reliable, experienced and well-integrated trading partner for the paper industry.

Bunzl & Biach traces its origins to 1854, when Moritz Bunzl (1820–1875) founded the firm Emanuel Biach's Eidam in Pressburg (now Bratislava). The company engaged in the 'Hadernhandel' — the collection of textile waste and its preparation for use by the textile and paper industries. From 1883, with its head office in Vienna, the enterprise organised a network for the rag trade spanning Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, and also acquired factories for further processing. Besides the Vienna head office, the paper mill founded in 1917 in Ortmann near Pernitz in Lower Austria was of great importance to the group. After the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in 1918, subsidiaries were founded in the successor states and numerous further holdings were acquired. To unite this corporate network under one roof, in 1936 the existing firms and companies were converted into corporations. The Austrian companies and those with Austrian connections were contributed to the newly founded Bunzl & Biach AG in Vienna. A Bunzl Holding AG was also established in Zug, Switzerland. The Bunzl Holding owned, alongside Bunzl & Biach AG in Vienna, numerous operations and holdings in the successor states of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy as well as in the German Reich. The owners of Bunzl Holding AG were six brothers who, together with their families, were persecuted and driven out — and in some cases murdered — as Jews after Austria's annexation by the so-called German Reich in 1938. The Bunzl & Biach AG group was 'Aryanised' in 1938 by the Österreichische Kontrollbank für Industrie und Handel and renamed Kontropa Kontinentale Rohstoff und Papierindustrie Aktiengesellschaft in September 1941. In 1946 the family regained all Austrian companies. One hundred years after the firm's founding, companies in England, America, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and South Africa with nearly 4,000 employees formed the Bunzl group. In the course of several restructurings and changes of ownership, an independent company, Bunzl & Biach GmbH, was founded in 1990, owned 50% each by SCA Laakirchen AG and SCA Hygiene Products GmbH in Ortmann. In 2013 Heinzel Holding acquired 100% of the shares in Papierfabrik Laakirchen Papier AG from the SCA group. Through the purchase of one percent of the share capital held by its second parent company Essity Austria GmbH by Laakirchen Papier AG, the Heinzel Group indirectly obtained a 51% majority in Bunzl & Biach GmbH. Today Bunzl & Biach GmbH is headquartered in Vienna-Floridsdorf, with additional locations in Vienna-Matzleinsdorf and Linz, and subsidiaries in Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It is owned by Heinzel Holding GmbH and Essity Austria GmbH. The company describes itself as one of the leading groups in Europe for recovered paper, annually recycling more than 1,000,000,000 kilograms of recovered paper. Its international purchasing department organises more than 50,000 transports per year in Europe, with a traded volume of more than 250 million euros. The Bunzl & Biach group is the main supplier of the paper mills Laakirchen Papier AG and Essity Austria GmbH, and together with its subsidiaries plays an important role in trading recovered paper on a national and international level.

• 2013

  Heinzel Holding acquires 100% of Papierfabrik Laakirchen Papier AG from the SCA group; through a subsequent share transaction, the Heinzel Group indirectly obtains a 51% majority in Bunzl & Biach GmbH.

• 1990

  Bunzl & Biach GmbH is founded as an independent company, owned 50/50 by SCA Laakirchen AG and SCA Hygiene Products GmbH in Ortmann.

• 1954

  One hundred years after founding, the Bunzl group spans England, America, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and South Africa with nearly 4,000 employees.

• 1946

  The family regains all Austrian companies.

• 1941

  The company is renamed Kontropa Kontinentale Rohstoff und Papierindustrie Aktiengesellschaft.

• 1938

  After Austria's annexation by Nazi Germany, the Jewish owners are persecuted and the group is 'Aryanised' by the Österreichische Kontrollbank für Industrie und Handel.

• 1936

  Existing firms are converted into corporations; Bunzl & Biach AG is founded in Vienna and Bunzl Holding AG in Zug, Switzerland.

• 1918

  After the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, subsidiaries are founded in successor states and further holdings acquired.

• 1917

  Paper mill founded in Ortmann near Pernitz, Lower Austria, becoming a key group site.

• 1883

  Company establishes its head office in Vienna and organises a network for the rag trade across Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe.

• 1854

  Moritz Bunzl founds Emanuel Biach's Eidam in Pressburg (now Bratislava), engaging in the rag trade.

One of the leading groups in Europe for recovered paper, a significant raw material supplier to the domestic paper industry, and an expert in the recovered paper market for more than 100 years.

• Recovered paper (Altpapier)

  Traded and recycled raw material for the paper industry; more than 1,000,000,000 kg recycled annually.

• Trading and logistics services

  International purchasing department organises more than 50,000 transports per year in Europe.

1. 1Bunzl & Biach EN - Bunzl&Biachbunzl-biach.at
2. 2Bunzl & Biach GmbH - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Bunzl & Biach - Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org