Germany’s Manz announces insolvency application

Industrial plant manufacturer Manz AG will file for insolvency proceedings, the Reutlingen-based company said on Dec. 18, 2024.

At the end of November 2024, Manz had announced the sale of its battery cell production equipment business and revised a financial-year forecast which had already been adjusted in June 2024.

The latest expectations were for losses before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of €20 million ($20.8 million) to €25 million, with losses before interest and taxes of €30 million to €35 million. Manz had pointed to “an extremely weak market environment” with anticipated 2024 sales of €170 million to €180 million.

Manz said its insolvency application will be made despite “ongoing investor discussions” with the company stating an intent to “focus on the industrial automation sector as well as the electronics, semiconductor, and contract manufacturing sectors.”

The manufacturer added “concrete discussions with several interested investors” are taking place in regards to the sale of the battery cell production division with a transaction hoped for before July 2025. Manz had wound up its solar production equipment business in 2022.

The company blamed “market distortions in the European battery cell market” for its current woes. Manz said it had “invested in the expansion of [production] capacities and technologies, particularly for battery cell production,” but the market for European battery cells had experienced a “drastic slump” in 2024 with major manufacturers postponing or canceling investment.

The manufacturer pointed to “a lack of support from the appropriate political framework,” notably in Europe’s electromobility market.

Manz said structured insolvency would offer “the opportunity to reposition the company financially, to fundamentally optimize the existing structures, and to focus on Manz’s core technological competencies.” The company said it aims to “optimize workflows, create a leaner organizational structure, and standardize measures in the product portfolio” as well as becoming “more agile and competitive” via the insolvency proceedings.

From pv magazine Deutschland.