GERMANY: A court has approved tram manufacturer HeiterBlick’s application for ‘self-administration’ as part of plan to restructure and regain its competitiveness.
Under self-administration a company’s existing management restructures the business under advice by external experts, in this case from management consultancy Falkensteg and law firm Baker Tilly.
On April 7, HeiterBlick said it had been affected by the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on its supply chain.
Higher costs and project delays had made it increasingly difficult for the company to generate sufficient liquidity from long-term contracts, some of which date back before the crises.
It said key stakeholders have pledged their support for the restructuring, which aims to return the company to a sustainable growth path. The Federal Employment Agency will cover wages for three months, and business operations will continue unchanged.
HeiterBlick has its origins in the main workshop of the Leipzig transport company. It was established as Leoliner Fahrzeugbau Leipzig in 2004 to build low-cost trams, and city transport operator LVB sold a 51% stake in 2006 and 49% in 2011. It adopted the HeiterBlick name in 2007, and now employs around 250 people.
It has supplied customised light rail vehicles to Bielefeld, Hannover, Halberstadt, Dortmund and Würzburg, and through the LEIWAG consortium with Kiepe Electric has the Sachsen Tram of the Future framework contract to supply up to 155 trams to Leipzig, Zwickau and Görlitz.
