17.04.2012

SIAG Schaaf Industrie AG: Self-administered insolvency proceeding approved

• Approval has been received from the court of jurisdiction: preliminary self-administration will replace previous insolvency administration
• Restructuring expert Andrew Seidl appointed as CEO and takes over operational responsibilities
• Production in the facilities has been secured

Dernbach, 17 April 2012 – SIAG Schaaf Industrie AG (SIAG) will be restructured within the scope of a self-administered insolvency proceeding. Today, the corresponding application was approved by the local court of jurisdiction in Montabaur, thereby making SIAG capable to act since it filed for insolvency on 19 March. The lawyer Mr. Andrew Seidl was appointed as SIAG’s new CEO. The remaining executive board members include Professor Peter Görgen (CRO), Willy Hartung (CFO) and division director Tomas Marutz. 

Andrew Seidl, a well-known restructuring expert across Germany with a high level of experience in the restructuring of companies in insolvency, has obtained operational responsibilities for SIAG. “I see a high level of potential in this company, and in my opinion, there is no reason why SIAG should not continue its operations.” Mr. Seidl continues, “The order situation is positive. Production is secure in all facilities.” Short-term financing was undertaken in the form of an insolvency loan from the Deutschen Kreditbank DKB. 

In the next few weeks, the executive board will formulate a restructuring strategy for the SIAG Group within the framework of a self-administered insolvency administration. Furthermore, Mr. Seidl is in continuous communication with suppliers, customers, employees and financers. “They share our positive outlook on the situation – we are currently not dependent on finding an external investor,” states Mr. Seidl. The company’s first priority is to restore lost trust and confidence in the market and to carry out existing orders within the set deadline. The subsidiary SIAG Nordseewerke GmbH, which is not affected by the insolvency of the parent company, is operating as usual.    

SIAG’s ultimate goal is to bring the company back onto a course of success; SIAG plans to open the insolvency proceeding under self-administration on 01 June 2012, and plans to complete the proceeding by the end of the year. 

On 19 March 2012, the SIAG Schaaf Industrie AG filed for insolvency for itself and for four of its subsidiaries. The court of jurisdiction repealed the preliminary insolvency administration and ordered an insolvency proceeding under self-administration. As of now, the preliminary insolvency administrator, Dr. Jan Markus Plathner, will act as the preliminary custodian, thereby giving him a supervisory role. Further information concerning the future of the SIAG Group will be made known upon finalization of the restructuring strategy.         

The Insolvency Restructuring Strategy
The restructuring strategy under a self-administered insolvency proceeding is a very successful instrument, and although seldom implemented, it offers a viable alternative to ordinary insolvency proceedings. Under this type of administration, the company restructures itself within the framework of a strategy based on the company’s available resources. The restructuring plan is comprised of individual phases and integrates the corresponding restructuring possibilities of the insolvency regulation. The proceeding will gain in importance through Erleichterung der Unternehmenssanierung (ESUG), a newly introduced provision in German insolvency law intended to bring relief to companies undergoing restructuring.

About SIAG Schaaf Industrie AG
SIAG Schaaf Industrie AG is a leading provider to the wind energy industry with 1,800 employees and eleven locations across the globe. The SIAG Group looks back on 16 years of experience in steel construction and has developed into a system provider supplying to all major wind turbine manufacturers in the industry. The group is characterized by consistent quality monitoring systems and a high level of delivery reliability. In 2010, the traditional shipyard Nordseewerke was integrated into the SIAG Group, where large components for the offshore sector are finished on 500,000qm of manufacturing area. With an intelligent supply chain and its own purchasing company, the SIAG Group is able to produce its products at competitive prices at a high level of quality and delivery reliability.