Cordier has been family-owned since 1836 and was run by the Cordier family until the year it was taken over in 2006 by specTra and the US financial investor Strategic Value Partners (SVP).

After a failed, credit-financed major investment and expansion, the company ran into difficulties and subsequently went bankrupt.

In May / June 2006, specTra and SVP acquired 100% of the shares in Cordier Spezialpapier GmbH, Bad Dürkheim, in a share deal. specTra held a minority stake.

Cordier Spezialpapier produced technical and graphic special papers with an annual turnover of around € 50-55 million (2019).

In the area of graphic papers, Cordier was one of three manufacturers in Europe who mainly produce wood-free printing papers for high-quality hardcover books (including Harry Potter).

In technical papers, Cordier was the market leader for so-called volcanic fiber papers, which are used as base papers in the manufacture of grinding wheels, and also produced the marbled paper for the cover and inner layers of office folders, wallpaper tiles, special papers for battery manufacturers (battery separators), etc.

Cordier also made new cellulose from so-called rags (sections of industrial waste from the cotton-processing textile industry). Using a worldwide unique production process, special fibers for the manufacture of new textiles were developed from this textile waste with an international group from the fiber industry.

In April 2013 the shareholders of specTra took over all shares in Cordier from Strategic Value Partners.

Nikolaus Benecke was responsible for the position of CEO as Managing Director from and until June 2019. The restructuring and strategic realignment succeeded in the following years with the company's employees.

In December 2017, Cordier was sold to the Dutch Value Enhancement Partners (VEP).

In autumn 2019, the company went into bankruptcy again. This was triggered by the increasing demand from China for pulp, the resulting price increase in pulp, a negative development of the US $ against the euro (pulp is traded in US $), rising energy and personnel costs, etc. The result was the division of the Company and its sale in the context of bankruptcy.

In 2020, the area of technical papers and pulp production was sold to a Cordier customer.

In 2021, the graphics division of Schleipen GmbH was sold to Lenk AG, which in the future will also manufacture other specialty papers in Bad Dürkheim in addition to graphic book papers.