CHARLOTTE, NC, May 31, 2023-

Glatfelter Corporation, a leading global supplier of engineered materials, today announced that it is closing its Ober-Schmitten, Germany, facility due to the ongoing financial underperformance of the electrical and glassine specialty papers manufactured at the site. The actions taken are part of the Company’s turnaround strategy that is aimed at improving the financial performance of the overall business. The Ober-Schmitten facility, part of the Composite Fibers segment, has approximately 180 employees and is located in Nidda, Germany, with an associated sales office in Suzhou, China. The Ober-Schmitten Economic Committee and Works Council were notified of the closure and negotiations regarding a compromise of interest and social plan will begin immediately.

“This site has faced continued challenges from escalating energy, raw material and labor inflation, increased competition, and most recently, declining markets,” said Mr. Thomas Fahnemann, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We increased prices for the electrical and glassine products in the fourth quarter of 2022 to avoid further losses and subsequently, we lost meaningful business to our competition. Through this process, it became evident that Glatfelter is unable to compete in this market without a significant investment to streamline operations and substantially reduce the site’s overall manufacturing costs for these non-core products.”

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