According to OÖN information, the Mondsee water purifier BWT is entering the heating business. BWT made the best offer for Windhager and won the contract, said Insolvency administrator Helmut Hüttinger on Thursday to the OÖNachrichten. BWT will take over the majority of the manufacturer Windhager in Seekirchen (Salzburg, Flachgau), which went bankrupt at the beginning of January; the purchase price of an unknown amount has already been paid. “The contract was signed yesterday and the creditors’ committee has already approved it.” The approval of the antitrust authorities is still pending, “but it should be problem-free,” said Hüttinger. He expects it in two to three weeks.
FIBA, the parent company of BWT, is actually taking over the headquarters of Windhager Zentralheiz GmbH in Seekirchen (production) and die Windhager Technik GmbH (sales and service). The die Windhager Logistik GmbH, the half-finished factory and logistics center in Pinsdorf near Gmunden, is undergoing its own insolvency proceedings and is not (yet) affected by the sale.
Many employees are to be taken on
The traditional company Windhager, which also employs many people from the Braunau district, has 440 employees. The aim is to take on as many employees as possible; there is no guarantee of employment. However, it is unrealistic for all employees to achieve this.
Windhager employees were offered on Wednesday the possibility of moving to the BWT headquarters in Mondsee. According to reports, a recruitment stop has already been made there. BWT managing director Weißenbacher will also be the new Windhager managing director. The name Windhager should be retained. The liabilities amounted to more than 86 million euros. The outstanding wages will be paid out from the insolvency wage protection fund starting this week, the union reports.
The massive price increases for pellets as a result of the war in Ukraine and the discussion in Germany as to whether heating with wood was even sustainable led to massive uncertainty among customers and ultimately to a significant drop in orders of up to 70 percent, it was said when the company filed for bankruptcy. Managing director was Stefan Gubi said at the time, i.eAnother critical factor was that the company had high financial needs at the same time due to the construction of the new factory in Pinsdorf.
What happens to the half-finished plant in Pinsdorf?
BWT expressed interest in taking over the new heat pump plant and logistics center in Pinsdorf (Gmunden district), which is already 85 percent completed. “We have made an offer.” However, since this is a different insolvency procedure, it is still completely unclear whether the contract will be awarded.
Image: Wolfgang Spitzbart
In any case, the sale of the headquarters was not linked to the sale of the construction site in Pinsdorf, according to insolvency administrator Hüttinger. He explained that the quota also depends on this procedure. “It depends on whether Pinsdorf can be finished,” because this also entails claims for damages. The registration period for creditors ends at the end of March. Originally it was assumed that the quota would be 20 percent within two years.
Image: ebra
The liquidator in the Pinsdorf proceedings, the Salzburg lawyer Johannes Hirtzberger, is of course not allowed to name anyone interested in the almost finished work, but “there are interested parties, including from other industries,” he told the OÖN. The location is very well connected in terms of transport, the multifunctional building, which houses a high hall for a high-bay warehouse, is energy-efficient according to current building standards and very logistics-oriented. But the building technology is still missing.
The Mühlviertel company M-Tec, which had planned a cooperation with Windhager in Pinsdorf but is not financially involved, is currently not interested in buying. “That’s a shoe size too big for us,” said Klemens Mittermayr, managing director of the Anreiter installation company.
After three decades since its founding, BWT, with its headquarters in Mondsee, is an international group led by Andreas Weißenbacher and Peter Wienerroither. More than 5,500 employees in 80 countries and at ten production sites offer water treatment products and services.
Author
Ulrike Rubasch
Economics editor
Ulrike Rubasch
