Newsletter #4 | An interview with Jürgen Schulz

“As far as I’m concerned, beverage coasters represent everything that’s right with a great evening get-together”

Name: Jürgen Schulz

Job title: Managing Director

Hobbies: Nature

Age: 58

Joined KATZ in: 2022

It would hardly be an exaggeration to say that throughout the entirety of his professional career since he completed an apprenticeship as a print media technologist and then went on to college, where he graduated with a degree in industrial engineering, Jürgen Schulz has worked at print shops and paper mills. In January 2022, the family man became managing director of KATZ, with his most important jobs before that being at the Baden Board paper mill in the Murgtal area and the Palm paper mill in Wörth. The latter two were integrated companies, meaning that pulp was produced and processed under a single roof, just like at KATZ.

How did you end up working at KATZ?
I’d spent a long time working in the paper industry, so it goes without saying that I was already familiar with KATZ. Now, what really drew me to taking over the company’s reins was, and continues to be, KATZ’s international reach. To put it simply, the company is a global industry leader in the production and distribution of beverage coasters at a multitude of sites, and its global market share is around seventy percent.

What does your role at KATZ entail?
My main tasks include developing the company further, with one example being continuing to build on our market position as a global industry leader. They also include optimizing all our existing products and developing new, future-proof product lines.

What kind of significance do beverage coasters hold for you as an individual?
You know, when I go out, get together with friends, or maybe have a drink while I’m enjoying some time off at a restaurant with my family, a beverage coaster is part and parcel of the experience. It just comes with the territory of having a nice, cool drink. As far as I’m concerned, a beverage coaster is the one thing that truly differentiates having a drink at home from going out and having a drink. In fact, things kind of feel off if I get a drink without a beverage coaster to go along with it, and I always ask the waiter for one in that case. A paper napkin doesn’t quite cut it, if you will.

What kinds of trends are you currently seeing in the drink industry and in the market?
We at KATZ currently seeing two big developments in the market. One is the increasing worldwide importance of sustainability, which is also associated with the desire to stop using plastic completely. The other is how we’re increasingly facing seasonal and other quantity fluctuations in the market, and that’s something that we’re responding to by developing complementary products that we can make with the same equipment while fulfilling the demand for plastic-free products. In fact, our Food Board products are a perfect example of that. Do keep in mind, however, that we have no plans to move away from beverage coasters. They’ve been an integral part of what we do for 100 years and will remain that way!

What kinds of opportunities and advantages will we see with the new Willstätt site?
The Willstätt site should provide KATZ, as part of the Koehler Group, with geographic proximity to our parent company. Obviously that’s not particularly surprising, since Willstätt is located between the headquarters in Oberkirch and the site in Kehl. In addition, Beaver Paper, another Koehler Group subsidiary, is located in Willstätt as well, and in our immediate vicinity to top it off. Among other things, that enable us to take advantage of synergistic effects. Finally, the Willstätt site comes with the latest technology that we need not just to continue developing and enhancing our existing products, but also to make new product lines a reality in the future, and it should also enable us to improve in terms of flexibility, customization, and faster lead times.

How important is the topic of sustainability for KATZ?
Sustainability is a great thing for KATZ in the sense that it’s inseparable from the company’s DNA. KATZ was founded as a sawmill all the way back in 1716 and started making the first beverage coasters in 1903. Why? Because even back then, the company wanted to take the wood waste from the sawmill and mill and reuse it. And when you really think about it, that’s pretty much the core of any philosophy of sustainability. Fast forward to today, and we’re still making board from wood pulp with the exact same motivation. We use wood from forest management and thinning activities in local forests. Our use of closed-loop water systems enables us to conserve that most precious and pure of natural raw materials – water – very efficiently. And when our products reach the end of their lifecycle, they continue to be a valuable raw material for recycling.