“From our customers’ point of view, Germany, with its high energy costs, is increasingly becoming a risky location for foundries,” emphasizes Managing Director Patrick G. Weber. ”We want to further expand our market position as a leading European customer foundry. To do this, we have to adapt our capacities in Germany to the requirements and call-off figures of our customers. The debtor-in-possession proceedings that have now been initiated offer us the necessary options and instruments for this.”

The management of Procast Guss GmbH therefore filed a corresponding application with the District Court of Bielefeld this week. The court has approved the application and ordered preliminary debtor-in-possession proceedings. Business operations will continue in full at the company’s two production sites in Gütersloh and Nortorf, i.e. orders will be processed and delivered as usual. The wages and salaries of the approximately 225 employees affected employees are secure. Invoices will also continue to be paid in accordance with the applicable debtor-in-possession regulations.

The debtor-in-possession proceedings provide companies with a legal framework for quickly and effectively implementing the necessary restructuring measures while business operations continue as usual. The management remains in office and manages the restructuring itself. In doing so, it can fall back on a range of instruments that are not available outside of such proceedings. For example, contracts can be terminated more easily and necessary restructuring measures can be implemented particularly quickly and effectively. The procedure is only open to companies that address their economic difficulties at an early stage and where there is sufficient room for maneuver for a solution. Both are the case with Procast Guss GmbH.

For the duration of the restructuring, the company has appointed the experienced restructuring expert Patrick G. Weber as Chief Restructuring Officer (CRO). He will manage the implementation of the reorganization together with the general representative, the Hamburg lawyer Andreas Romey from the law firm ECKERT RECHTSANWÄLTE. The previous managing director, Graziano Sammati, is concentrating on his role in the sister company in Spain, and in particular on the further ramp-up of production there. The court has appointed Dr. Marcel Streeck from the law firm Münzel & Böhm as the provisional insolvency monitor to supervise the restructuring in the interests of the creditors.

The self-administration proceedings relate exclusively to Procast Guss GmbH, which has two plants in Gütersloh (around 145 employees) and Nortorf (around 80 employees). The company decided to close its site in Bad Saulgau some time ago. This is currently being implemented and will be completed by the end of the year.

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Unlike many of its competitors, the Procast Group, with its four production sites in Gütersloh, Nortorf, Kiel and Abadiño in northern Spain, has a broad and solid base overall. However, like the entire German foundry industry, the group is suffering from high energy costs and the weak economy in Germany. In particular, the Gütersloh site is particularly affected by its high cost structure. Procast Handform GmbH in Kiel and Procast Guss Espana S.L in Abadiño in northern Spain, which also belong to the Procast Group, are not affected by the restructuring.

Private Assets, the shareholder of the Procast Group, supports the restructuring. “We continue to believe in the foundry business, and above all, we continue to believe in our European foundry group,” said Sven Dübbers, CEO of Private Assets AG. “Having modernized the company and given it a broader footing by acquiring the site in Spain and investing in the other sites, we are now tackling the cost structure in Germany with determination. This will enable us to position the company competitively in the long term and, above all, to secure production in Germany.”

About the Procast Group

The Procast Group is one of Europe’s leading jobbing foundries. As a full-service provider, Procast offers its customers a complete range of services: construction, design, casting, mechanical processing, coating and assembly of iron cast components. Procast has a production capacity of 55,000 tons of cast products. Both standardized and innovative iron casting materials are used. Procast Guss’s customers come from the mechanical engineering, commercial vehicle and tool manufacturing industries. Around 400 employees work at a total of four locations. The head office is in Gütersloh.

www.proca.st