Heuchelheim/Herborn (rüg). »We have good reasons to be optimistic again«, explains Askan Duhnke, managing director of the wire manufacturer Berkenhoff GmbH (Bedra) with seat in Heuchelheim-Kinzenbach. The optimism is based on the figures of the first six months of 2010, which create joy for the company management and the employees after a long lean period.
Compared with the previous year, Berkenhoff records an increase in turnover of 29.5 percent to 42.6 million Euro. This end result was presented by Duhnke and Thomas Kresse, speaker of the board of rescue experts Nexpert AG, in the course of a press conference on Thursday at the location Herborn-Merkenbach.
2009 has been a year of great challenges for Berkenhoff, after the situation of the weakened company had been additionally made worse due to the world economy crisis. However, in the meantime we can report postive news again, says Duhnke. The rescue plan had initially provided for more than 70 job losses, in the end, however, there have been »only« 60 terminations for operational reasons. And in the meantime one even moves onto reinstatement of previous employees. The positive result is also mirrored in investments, amongst others two million Euro in production sequences. Eight new apprentiships are also offered.
This is made possible through a not planned but, for the responsible persons in the company, a very pleasing development of the turnover: after the most important rescue measures introduced in 2009 had taken effect, an operative profit of 1.7 million Euro had again been recorded in the first six months of the fiscal year 2009/2010 (October 2009 to March 2010). In the previous year, the wire manufacturer still recorded a loss of 6.1 million Euro.
The planned sales figures have been exceeded in all three business areas, in the first six months by 15 percent and alone in March 2010 by 19.3 percent. The order situation in March was better compared with the planning by almost 22 percent. In view of the positive results of the first six months, the company management has increased the prognosis for the total year. They now count on a turnover of 84.5 million Euro (previous year: 60 million).
»We have improved the production and the product quality, our investments increased and we are in the process of opening up new markets. Our high-tech precision wires are more than ever known in industry and sought after«, says Duhnke. Berkenhoff is a »Phoenix rising from the ashes« so to speak.
Thomas Kresse explained the rescue concept. Nexpert AG is a management consultancy, who has decided on the so called »Driving seat model« in the case of Berkenhoff. This means: Nexpert bought Berkenhoff for one Euro and will sell the company again after a successful rescue (»and also return the Euro«), whereby the sale price does not go to Nexpert but goes directly to the repayment of the loans.
Nexpert AG receives a fixed fee, which will be reviewed annually. Without the precondition of the »Driving seat model« it would not have been possible to receive a bank guarantee from the country of Hessen for the 11 million Euro bank loan.
The decision of the previous management to invest in China, Kresse described as a strategic error. The new management has ended the »two million adventure China«. One relies on »producing the best wire in the world in Germany«. »Concerning capital, we are now very well situated, this company will not be knocked over so quickly now« says the speaker of Nexpert. »With this we have done our homework in all areas and we have saved the company from locusts.«
In this connection Kresse also pointed out that this success would not have been possible without the support of politic, the constructive cooperation of the works counsellors and the IG Metall, and the courage of the participating banks, as this rescue model is still unique in Germany. Due to the in the meantime stable capitalization, investments are also again possible.
The Kinzenbach work council chairman Steffen Heinrich describes the negotiatins with the new management as »difficult and long-drawn out«. However, the in the meantime again full order books and the reinstatements are positive. In Kinzenbach one even had to extend the working hours. Highly commendable is the contribution of the employees, who had to accept reductions in holiday money and Christmas bonuses.
Great praise for the rescue path has been expressed also by the head of administrative district Lahn-Dill Wolfgang Schuster (SPD), CDU-MdL Clemes Reif, the mayor of Herborn Hans Benner and IG-Metall authorised representative Hans-Peter Wieth (Herborn), who, however, also talked of a painful solution for the employees. However, it is pleasing that the personnel reduction is less than initially planned.
In three years Berkenhoff GmbH should be finally in save waters. »If you still see us here then, we have got something wrong« Kresse underlines the ambitions of the rescuer.
© Gießener Allgemeine Zeitung 2010 - www.giessener-allgemeine.de
