Anyone who shops at Aldi will probably know the company Stute. Among other things, it supplies the discounter with its own cola. But that is now over.
The insolvency announcement came in the spring, and now it is clear: the beverage and spread manufacturer Stute is ending a large part of its beverage bottling operations. According to information from the company, the bottling of PET bottles and cans was also stopped with the closure of Paderborner Kühlhaus GmbH & Co. KG in August, reports the “Lebensmittelzeitung”. The plants are for sale.
According to the report, drinks in soft packaging will apparently only be produced if the contribution margins are sufficient, i.e. if the fixed costs are covered. Citing industry experts, the “Lebensmittelzeitung” writes that Stute was able to secure smaller orders from its former main customer Aldi in the most recent tenders.
Background: The Stute company filed for bankruptcy in April. According to the company, the reasons for the bankruptcy were the sharp rise in costs for raw materials, energy and personnel. In addition, competition in the industry had become more intense. The planned restructuring by the company itself has apparently not been successful.
Since then, the bottling plants have not been working to full capacity, writes the “Westfalen-Blatt”. Some of the 650 employees were on short-time work. The hope expressed when the insolvency application was filed that all employees would be retained has apparently not been fulfilled. As the WDR reported, 200 people were laid off at the Paderborn site in June.
For the time being, the production of spreads will be maintained. In addition to drinks, Stute also produces jams and spreads, such as the Aldi brand “Nusskati”. However, sales in this area have also recently fallen.
Before filing for bankruptcy, Stute had attempted to expand its beverage bottling business. To this end, the can filling capacity was increased.
According to an earlier report by Lebensmittelzeitung, Stute has been losing sales for almost a decade. In 2011, the company was able to generate sales of more than 460 million euros, but in 2021 this figure was only 234 million euros. Losses rose from 9 to 23 million euros between 2019 and 2021 alone. In total, more than 70 million euros in losses have been incurred since 2019, writes Lebensmittelzeitung.
Stute was founded in 1885 by Wilhelm Stute. Since then, the company has been family-run and is active in the food sector. Stute describes itself as a fruit and vegetable processor. Production takes place entirely in Germany at two locations in Paderborn.
