November 20, 2024 - 2:30 p.m.
Böhm from the law firm Schultze & Braun has been in Plößberg/DE, at the company's headquarters, since the morning of November 20 and "is getting an idea of the situation in talks with the two managing directors Stefan Ziegler and Jörg Artmann," according to an official statement from Schulze & Braun. In the coming days and weeks, all options for restructuring will be examined and suitable measures will already be initiated.
The business operations of the holding company are to be continued in full during the preliminary proceedings, as the press release goes on to state. Of the more than 30 companies which are part of the holding company, not a single one has filed for insolvency so far. It is still unclear and subject to examination whether this will be necessary in the future.
"The Ziegler Group is an innovative group of companies which is involved in numerous growth and future-oriented industries. An initial assessment shows that there are good chances of restructuring the group by means of insolvency proceedings. My primary goal is to preserve as many jobs as possible in the region and beyond," Böhm is quoted in the press release.
Ziegler's employees have already been informed. The wages and salaries of the holding's approximately 170 employees will be covered by the insolvency benefit for the next three months, according to the announcement.
November 20, 2024 - 11:30 a.m.
The Ziegler Group most recently employed more than 3,200 people at over 34 production sites, including Plößberg/DE, the largest single sawmill site in Europe.
According to the last balance sheet (2022), Ziegler Holding's sales totaled around €488 million – liabilities have reportedly amounted to several hundred million euros in recent years.
According to information from the Ziegler homepage, the company already reported sales of over one billion euros for 2022. Ziegler also forecast a further increase to €1.6 billion by 2024. The number of employees should also have grown to around 4,000.
Detailed figures and information on the insolvency proceedings are to follow in the course of the next days by insolvency administrator Böhm.
According to initial information, the commissioned Nuremberg law firm Schultze & Braun states that the insolvencyprimarily concerns the holding company. How and to what extent the individual operating companies are affected by this insolvency is now a question of upcoming individual audits. The law firm does not want to make any further statements at this point.
The two managing directors Stefan Ziegler and Jörg Artmann, who was commissioned with the renovation of Klenk Holz a few years ago, could not yet be reached for comment.
