When the two entrepreneurs Felix Schöller and Theodor Bausch came to Neu Kaliß in 1871, they already had ambitious plans. They wanted to reform the paper mill, which was already producing high-quality writing paper at that time. A modern paper mill was to be built on the banks of the New Elde River.
On February 27, 1872, the foundation stone was laid for machine paper production in Neu Kaliß, which is still an important economic force for the region today. The economic upswing and the excellent quality of the papers led to the constant expansion of the factory in the following years. After the First World War, the factory site on the Elde River was about 11,000 square meters in size. However, the economic success was not to last forever. After the Second World War, on March 28, 1946, Soviet soldiers began dismantling the mill. Nevertheless, the history of paper production at the Neu Kaliß site continued. Production resumed in November 1949, and the plant was transferred to national ownership in 1953. In the following years, production was constantly developed and switched to new specialty papers. The company operated in this way until the fall of the Wall. Finally, in 1992, the plant was deemed no longer capable of being restructured. Nevertheless, there was an interested party for the old facilities: the Melitta Group. Since 1995, the Melitta Group has continued paper production at the new site with "Neu Kaliß Spezial Papier GmbH & Co. KG" at the new site.
The former factory site is now a unique industrial monument in terms of architectural history. Shortly after Dömitz, water hikers pass directly by the enormous red brick buildings. These still bear witness to the great importance of the factory for the region, but also remind us of the transience of once significant achievements due to constantly changing technical progress.
