Abalon's CEO Manfred Reinkemeier © Martina Nöstler
"The reason for this step lies not in the operating business: Last year Heiligenkreuz achieved a profit of more than 500,000, the results for May are even higher, and the current order situation is good. The company has nevertheless opted for this restructuring process because the involved aid-platform Wirtschaftsservice Burgenland AG has butted out of a consensual agreement on the long-term security of the site in 2013 without notice for any reason", explains Manfred Reinkemeier. "We were faced with the decision to just continue operating as in the past, that is using available liquidity to settle the financial liabilities resulting from TTM’s past and to forego investments needed. Instead, we have decided to create a long-term basis that is in line with the available roundwood volume in order to implement the necessary sustaining and development investments on our own. There will be no layoffs in connection with the restructuring. Instead we assume that will be able to expand the site in the medium term with our own resources."
In 2001/2002, the former TTM Massivholz company built a beech sawmill based on an experimental softwood concept, which never materialized. At the end of 2003, Manfred Reinkemeier took over the mill, completely changed it and start over. Yet the required 240,000 sm³/yr of beech logs were not economically available within reasonable procurement radius around the site. Now this next step is taken ten years after restructuring a mill whose origins had been totally flawed.
Abalon has 70 employees in Heiligenkreuz and is by their own definition "one of the world's leading suppliers of refined beech lumber".
