A new Emblematic Strategic Investment, with a total budget of more than 99 million euros, was approved by the Inter-ministerial Strategic Investments Committee.

According to an announcement by the Ministry of Development and Investments, this is the investment project “Expanding the Capacity of an Industrial Paper Products Production Unit”, which is expected to create 51 new permanent jobs. The entity of the investment is the company “INTERTRADE HELLAS ANONYMOS COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL COMPANY FOR THE PRODUCTION OF PAPER PRODUCTS SA.” which he has redeemed the trademark of Softex.

The main activity of the investment is the manufacture of household paper, toilet paper and paper products. The purpose of the investment plan is to expand the capacity of the existing unit by acquiring modern machinery and in particular the complete verticalization of the production of virgin paper “Tissue”, using recycled paper. The implementation of this investment plan aims at the production of the first Low Carbon Emission paper, which will in turn be the raw material for the production of a new generation of products with a strong environmental footprint.

The investment plan is part of the Flagship Investments of Exceptional Importance, and the financing of the incentive to support spending in the form of a grant will come from the resources of the Recovery Fund.

“This is the Greece we want”

Presenting the success story of the new Softex, the Minister of Development and Investments Adonis Georgiadis said: “The SOFTEX company is a part of the history of the Greek industry. In 2015, the SOFTEX factory was closed after a major fire and the company ceased operations. I am extremely proud that one of my first decisions as Minister of Development and Investments was the inclusion of the investment of the company “INTERTRADE”, the company that bought the “SOFTEX” brand, and the creation, in the three years 2020-2023, of the new large of the treated paper products production unit in Inofyta. The creation of a company that goes beyond 100 million turnover per yearwith very large exports abroad, but also with a very strong footprint in the domestic market.

Its inclusion after yesterday’s decision in Flagship Investments with the creation of a new large unit in the same area of ​​Oinophyta, will double production, reduce our trade deficit in the treated paper category in Greece to zero and increase our exports at the same time. This is the Greece we want. The Greece of well-paid jobs, “brain gain” – many executives of this company returned from abroad where they had left in the past years and found work again in Greece -, exports, the production of standards and innovative products. And all this in an environment of sustainable development, respect for the environment and a circular economy. The “Greece of the future” we saw yesterday with Mr. Papathanasis during our visit to the “INTERTRADE” company, in Oinophyta and we are extremely happy about it”.

For his part, the Deputy Minister of Development and Investments Nikos Papathanasis said: “With the approval of another strategic investment, we hopefully reach the 37 approved strategic investments during the four-year period of governance of the New Democracy. We managed to triple the strategic investments in our country, giving an air of renewal and confidence to the investment community. This Flagship strategic investment promotes the economy with a low energy and environmental footprint, promotes innovation and is expected to create jobs. Three important parameters for the flourishing of investments in our country”.

The Deputy Minister of Finance, Theodoros Skylakakis, said: “A productive, outward-looking, Emblematic Strategic Investment, with a total budget of over 99 million euros, which is expected to create new, permanent jobs, is being implemented with the contribution of the Recovery and Resilience Fund. The national program “Greece 2.0” is in full development and is a valuable ally for businesses with an eye on development. The rapid increase registered by investments in our country, compared to 2018, is a result of the reform policy we have been following for the last four years. And “Greece 2.0” strengthens this dynamic, leading to an “explosion” of investment, of which what we have seen so far is just the tip of the iceberg.”

The history

The company was founded in Athens in 1937 as Athenian Paperworks by the Kefala family (owner until 1984) and was the market leader in Greece. At its peak it employed over 1,000 workers and produced tens of thousands of tons of paper. However, in the 1970s, losses began to accumulate, with the company turning to borrowing. Due to debts of billions of drachmas to banks, in 1984 the company joined the Enterprise Reconstruction Organization (O.A.E.) which belonged to the public. In August 1994 the factory suffered a fire, which destroyed its machines and the factory.

In 1999, Softex found itself at a dead end and, in the context of the privatization of companies incorporated in the UAE, it was sold to the consortium New Co. The consortium consisted of the Italian Bolton Group, the American investment company Goldman Sachs, the American consulting firms Lochridge and Bain and Mr. Paolo Forlin, who was for many years the president of the American paper industry Scott Paper. Expectations of big profits that investors were aiming for quickly collapsed, causing most to exit. In 2002 Bolton embarks on a restructuring programme, takes full control of the shares, appoints a new chief executive and locks down the loss-making Drama plant. But a new big fire at the Botanikos factory in 2015 and the consequences of the financial crisis in Greece since 2009, led Softex to close, leaving 130 people unemployed.

In October 2016, the Greek paper industry Intertrade Hellas acquired the Softex brand from the Bolton group and, retaining 110 of the 130 employees, established the Softex sole proprietorship with an initial duration of 30 years.