Hoesch Schwerter Profile files for insolvency

German sections maker Hoesch Schwerter Profile, owned by Italy’s Calvi group, filed for insolvency in December. The company, based in Schwerte, Westphalia, specialises in sections for fork lift trucks.

Following a shutdown period over Christmas, the company has this week returned to normal production and business for the time being, “…so that supply to customers is guaranteed,” a spokesperson tells Kallanish. Still, the phase of preliminary insolvency will conclude at the end of February, “…and then we will see what will be next, if we will continue or not,” the spokesperson says.

The company most recently achieved a revenue of €100 million ($111m) at production of 70,000 tonnes. The mill’s capacity is approximately twice that, and peak production reached ten years ago was 100,000t.

Last year, the mill was hit severely by the slowdown of the economy and steel demand. “The economic downturn was a bad blow; one year ago, it all looked quite different still,” the spokesperson says.