19.03.2012

SIAG developing its restructuring plan

Dr. Jan Markus Plathner, representing the law firm BRINKMANN & PARTNER, has been commissioned as the preliminary insolvency administrator.

Dernbach, 19 March 2012 – Today, the management board of the SIAG Schaaf Industrie AG filed for insolvency at the District Court of Montabaur for SIAG Holding and those companies affiliated with it through Domination and Profit and Loss Transfer Agreements. The insolvency directly affects the production sites in Leipzig and Finsterwalde, the subsidiary SIAG Personaldienstleistungs- und Qualifizierungs-GmbH (SPQ) in Leipzig, as well as the sales company SIAG Windenergietechnik GmbH (SWT) in Dernbach. The SIAG Group employs over 1,800 individuals across the globe. The offshore companies in Emden (Nordseewerke), as well as the group’s foreign subsidiaries are not affected. Stahlbau Ruhland left the SIAG Group in 2011 and therefore remains unaffected by the current situation.

Dr. Jan Markus Plathner, a lawyer specialized in insolvency law from the law firm BRINKMANN & PARTNER, has been commissioned as the preliminary insolvency administrator. Dr. Plathner and his team are on site in order to make an initial assessment of the situation and to implement corresponding measures as soon as possible. After holding preliminary discussions with the management, Dr. Plathner stated: “Our primary goal is to stabilize the business operations of the affected companies and to achieve a smooth transition. Consequently, the next few days will be marked by achieving the necessary liquidity and negotiating with customers and suppliers in order to find a common solution for ongoing projects.”

Furthermore, the pre-financing of insolvency funds for the employees will be initiated.

Through the support of the preliminary insolvency administrator, the management aims to prepare a restructuring strategy which will be implemented in the form of a self-administered insolvency plan. The overall goal is to maintain the production sites, and not to shatter the SIAG Group.

Underlying reasons for the insolvency include high losses in the United States, project delays, as well as underemployment resulting from the financial and economic crisis in 2010 and 2011, which did not directly affect SIAG until 2011.   

As Rüdiger Schaaf, CEO and majority shareholder of the SIAG Group states, “Being responsible for this company, I truly regret having to make this decision. However, I’m not the kind of person to bury my head in the sand. In the course of the last few days, I have received considerable encouragement and support from our customers, suppliers and business partners, which has given me confidence for the difficult restructuring process that lies ahead. The SIAG Group has a unique selling proposition in several areas and is a key supplier of high-quality products and delivery reliability. I am therefore convinced that, together with the preliminary insolvency administrator, we will succeed in developing a restructuring strategy that will reestablish a solid financial basis for the SIAG Group in the interest of all parties involved, including bond holders.”


Contact:                                                                      
SIAG Schaaf Industrie AG                                        
Christian Adamczyk      
Press Speaker
Phone +49 (0) 2602 9340 115                                 
 

Preliminary insolvency administrator:
Dr. Jan Markus Plathner
Lawyer
Kanzlei Brinkmann & Partner
Friedrich-Ebert-Ring 12
56068 Koblenz
www.brinkmann-partner.de
   
For press requests:
Sebastian Brunner
communications+consulting
Phone: +49 (0) 175/5604673
E-Mail: