Europapier, Vienna, Austria, a daughter company of the Heinzel Group, late this past week closed the deal to acquire the signage business unit of the Austrian signage and paper merchant PaperNet, as was announced in June. With this transaction, Europapier acquires the complete signage business as well as other remaining assets of PaperNet, effective as of July 24. From that day, Europapier provides full support and service to signage customers throughout the country, with company PaperNet closing its entire sales operation on that same day, as was officially pre-announced.

As part of the transaction, Europapier also takes over the existing PaperNet signage team of 17 employees around business lead Michael Hicker, guaranteeing a smooth transition of the business for existing customers.

The Austrian daughter companies of the Europapier Group, Europapier Austria GmbH and EU-RO Handelsges.m.b.H., both specialized in paper wholesaling and both holding the position of local market leaders, have continuously expanded their product portfolio and significantly increased their stock during the past weeks. This allows them to guarantee a reliable and sufficient supply to their Austrian paper wholesale customers, despite PaperNet’s discontinuation.

"In the continuously shrinking paper market, we will witness further changes on the supply side in the coming years," Helmut Limbeck, a board member and co-owner of Europapier explained. "Contrary to current business trends, Europapier’s strategy is to invest in the product portfolio, availability, and services offered to further expand our position as market leader and stay the reliable partner of choice for our customers. As the single remaining Austrian paper wholesaler, we bear a special responsibility in our home market. The recent extension of our product and service portfolio with the new range of signage business has therefore been a logical step."