461 employees are worried

Auto parts supplier Pollmann is insolvent

The Waldviertel-based family business Pollmann has a long tradition. Now it is insolvent.(Bild: Pollmann)

More precise figures are now available: The large family-owned Pollmann Group, headquartered in Karlstein an der Thaya (Lower Austria), is insolvent. Three companies—including the umbrella brand Pollmann International—have filed for restructuring proceedings. A total of 342 creditors are also affected! Now it’s up to the court to decide.

Rumors had been circulating for two weeks; now it’s a sad reality. The traditional family-owned company from the Waldviertel region employs 1,200 people across five locations and three continents; as recently as the 1990s, it was said that one in every three sunroofs in a passenger car in Europe came from Pollmann. And on its website, the company still boasts that 93 percent of all major car brands have installed Pollmann parts.

The Waldviertel’s Flagship Company
At its Karlstein headquarters in the district of Waidhofen an der Thaya alone, the Pollmann conglomerate is believed to employ about half of its total workforce. According to the company, 461 employees across the three subsidiaries are affected. The combined debt of the three subsidiaries is reported to be 74 million euros.

More Detailed Figures
According to the Austrian association Creditreform, Pollmann International GmbH—which functions as a holding company and generates no revenue—employs 83 people. Its liabilities total 32.08 million euros, owed to 86 creditors. Pollmann Austria employs 321 people. The company has accumulated 34.3 million euros in debt owed to 222 creditors. Pollmann Werkzeugbau has 57 employees, with 7.5 million euros owed to 34 creditors. In total, this means that 461 employees are affected by the insolvency. Nearly 74 million euros are owed to 342 creditors.

“Due to the large number of employees affected, the works council and the Chamber of Labor were closely involved in the process,” the statement said. Pollmann emphasized in a press release that the foreign subsidiaries in the Czech Republic, Mexico, and China are not affected by the Austrian proceedings, nor is Maxxom Automation GmbH.

The current poor state of the automotive industry in Europe and strategic missteps—such as the construction of a new plant in Vitis, which had to be shut down shortly thereafter—are likely to have been decisive factors in the insolvency. For decades, the group had been considered one of the Waldviertel region’s leading companies, particularly in the automation technology sector. 

Judge Rules
Three companies within the Pollmann Group filed for restructuring proceedings a few minutes ago, as confirmed by the Krems Regional Court in response to an inquiry from the “Krone”: Pollmann International GmbH, Pollmann Austria GmbH, and Pollmann Werkzeugbau GmbH. All three companies have filed for restructuring with a repayment rate of 20 percent over two years. The presiding judge will decide in the coming days whether to grant the requested restructuring proceedings without self-administration. 

Rumors—which had claimed the group was in debt to the tune of tens of millions of euros and have now been confirmed—were recently fueled by the fact that the group’s CFO worked his last day yesterday. Pollmann points out that the company’s restructuring has been underway for some time. “A change in top management, the consolidation and relocation to a single site in Karlstein, the sale of non-operational real estate, and, in parallel, a structured investor process” were highlighted. “For a company of this size, change and restructuring on this scale are difficult to implement on its own, which is why initiating restructuring proceedings was unavoidable.”

The reason for the need for restructuring is the “structural transformation of the automotive industry,” a “lasting shift that is currently affecting many European suppliers,” Pollmann added. Automotive production continues to grow worldwide, while pressure is mounting in the European market. The companies are now being advised by insolvency law expert Andrea Fruhstorfer.