An investor has been found for the aluminium foundry Eurotech Schwäbisch Gmünd GmbH, which has been in insolvency proceedings since October 2021: The business operations will be taken over by Callista Private Equity from Munich. The location and jobs in Schwäbisch Gmünd will be retained.
Eurotech had filed for regular insolvency proceedings in October 2021 after insolvency threatened. The Schwäbisch Gmünd-based company, which still traded under the name MWK Schwäbisch Gmünd in 2015, produces aluminium parts using the permanent mould casting process, especially for heating systems. At the time of filing for insolvency, the foundry employed around 140 people.
The responsible insolvency administrator, lawyer Jochen Sedlitz from the law firm GRUB BRUGGER in Stuttgart, had continued to run the company since the insolvency application was filed. In addition to restructuring and optimising the production processes, the reorganisation concept provided for the elimination of slightly more than 30 jobs. In the course of an open and structured investor process, the Callista Private Equity Group reached an agreement with the insolvency administrator to take over the business operations on 1 January 2023.
In addition to long-term agreements with key Eurotech customers, the insolvency administrator has also negotiated a supplementary collective agreement with IG Metall, which will provide the company with relief in the coming years and thus support sustainable restructuring.
"We have worked very trustfully and well with the workforce and IG Metall, but also with the key customers, over the last 14 months during the insolvency proceedings. It is absolutely unusual that in the current market situation and the 'death' of many foundries such a long-term continuation can be successfully concluded. It shows that Eurotech is an absolute bank in terms of quality and reliability and therefore has a right to be on the market," explains restructuring specialist Sedlitz.
The investor Callista Privat Equity from Munich was already the owner of Eurotech, then operating under the name MWK Schwäbisch Gmünd GmbH, in 2015 and was able to successfully sell it to a strategic market player after the carve-out. Callista Private Equity knows the company and its special features and is convinced of the foundry's future viability. In order to position Eurotech as a successful company, measures are to be taken in particular to counteract the current volatile energy market and to maintain competitiveness on the international market. Due to the current ongoing consolidation and capacity bottlenecks in the aluminium foundry environment, active efforts are being made to acquire new orders in existing markets in order to further expand and diversify the customer portfolio. To this end, sales activities are also being extensively strengthened. The way is open for new as well as existing customers to sustainably place products. New orders can be accepted without any reservations and with the customary and necessary security of tenure. "Our great thanks go to the staff, who have faithfully stood by the company and supported the insolvency phase with a great deal of commitment," adds Jochen Sedlitz.
