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German sulphur user Kelheim to wind down operations

  • Mercados: Fertilizers
  • 25/11/25

German sulphur consumer Kelheim Fibres will wind down its operations by the end of this year, the fibre producer has announced.

Kelheim's 24 November announcement follows a failed sale to investment fund LEO III Fund, managed by Munich-based Dubag Group. A preliminary agreement was linked to Kelheim's ongoing insolvency process, with the sale falling through as a result of a lack of downstream supply contracts for 2026.

Production will be phased out by 31 December 2025, with regular output unviable beyond the end of the year.

Operations will cease completely unless further final commitments from downstream customers can be secured in a last-ditch attempt to allow a limited amount of output to continue.

Southern Germany-based Kelheim Fibres is a small consumer of sulphur, and also supplies a small amount of excess sulphuric acid locally.

The firm has faced lower availability from its usual sulphur supplier, Bayernoil's 97,000 t/yr sulphur capacity Vohburg-Neustadt refinery in Germany, following a fire in January that led to consistently lower operating rates at the plant.

The continued viability of the chemical industry in western Europe remains a key concern going into 2026, with sulphur prices at a three-year peak and other raw material prices high, energy costs comparatively elevated and a lack of downstream demand preventing raw material price increases from being passed on to downstream customers. Competing lower-cost imports have also eroded demand for fibres produced in Europe.


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