DOMO chemical plant in Leuna saved
"This was a last-minute rescue in a procedure that was unusual in every respect"
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The impending closure of the DOMO Caproleuna chemical plant has been averted: The insolvency administrator for the German sites of DOMO Chemicals, Prof. Dr. Lucas F. Flöther, has transferred the plant to a rescue company founded by InfraLeuna and LEUNA-Harze. This means that the plant and 436 jobs will be preserved. At the same time, the competent court has opened insolvency proceedings for the three German companies of DOMO Chemicals.
"This was a last-minute rescue in proceedings that were unusual in every respect," emphasized insolvency administrator Flöther, who has been continuing business operations since the end of December. Because the company had practically no money to finance ongoing operations, DOMO Caproleuna's chemical plant would have had to be shut down in January under normal circumstances. However, this was not possible for purely practical reasons: in winter temperatures, the plants cannot be shut down safely without environmental hazards.
The state of Saxony-Anhalt had therefore ordered the plants to continue operating in a reduced emergency mode until the end of March at the latest in order to avert danger and thus secure them. This left the door open for an investor solution, which has now been found with the takeover by Infraleuna and Leuna-Harze. Operations were transferred to the purchaser on April 1. The latter is now fully financing the business operations, so that the state was able to discontinue its support and cancel the substitute performance as planned.
In future, the company will operate under the name LEUNA - Polyamid GmbH. The acquiring company will take over the site and the property in Leuna as well as 436 of the approximately 500 employees. The insolvency administrator has reached an agreement with the works council on a reconciliation of interests with a social plan. Some of the staff reductions will take the form of redundancies or the expiry of fixed-term employment contracts. 39 employees had to be made redundant for operational reasons.
Flöther thanked the employees, the management, the purchaser, the Saxony-Anhalt Ministry of Economic Affairs and the responsible authorities for their excellent cooperation: "The fact that not only an investor was found in this unusual constellation, but also that the business could be handed over on time on the closing date, including all the necessary approvals and operating permits, was only possible thanks to a tour de force by everyone involved," said the insolvency administrator. "The decisive factor in all of this was that the employees dealt with this difficult situation in a highly professional manner and kept the plants running safely at all times. That deserves the greatest respect. I am all the more pleased that the effort has paid off and that the site and the majority of jobs have been saved."
DOMO Engineering Plastics GmbH is not part of the rescue solution. The company, which is based in Premnitz in Brandenburg and has around 70 employees, will be continued by the insolvency administrator until further notice. "The creditors support the continuation of business operations as long as talks with investors are ongoing," said Flöther. Parallel to the investor process initiated by the insolvency administrator, the Belgian parent company is also trying to find investors for its so-called "refinement business", which also includes the company in Premnitz. "If a solution for the site emerges in this context, we are also open to it," says Flöther.
The three German subsidiaries of the DOMO Chemicals Group filed for insolvency on December 25 after financing talks with the lenders failed over Christmas.
DOMO Caproleuna GmbH manufactures organic base products (e.g. caprolactam, phenol, acetone) and polyamide 6 as its main product, also known as nylon 6. Polyamide 6 is a versatile engineering plastic characterized by high strength, good toughness and very good processability. It is used in the automotive industry, the electrical and electronics sector and in high-quality consumer goods for lightweight, durable and high-performance components.
Polyamide 6 plastics are processed at DOMO Engineering Plastics GmbH in Premnitz. The company produces compounds, i.e. engineering plastics in which polyamide 6 is specifically combined with additives. This allows properties such as strength, heat resistance, rigidity or impact resistance to be precisely adjusted. Such compounds are mainly used in the automotive, electrical and consumer goods industries.
DOMO Chemicals GmbH in Leuna does not have any business operations. The administrative functions of the three German companies are bundled there. The company employs around 35 people. After a transitional phase, the company will have to be shut down in April.
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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