B + R GmbH can, once again, look positively into the future. Just one month after the insolvency proceedings were opened on 01.08.2018, the insolvency administrator found a continuation solution for the company with the support of investor Reinhard Schubert. Insolvency administrator Alexander Jüchser of LIESER Rechtsanwälte sold B + R to the Schubert Group as part of a transferred restructuring. The Schubert Group as a new investor, an expert in the construction of plants for the forging and sheet metal industry, will take over the operative business, maintain the location and continue to employ the majority of its employees. The purchase agreement has already been signed by a notary. Silence has been agreed on the purchase price.
Thanks to employees and investor
“I’m glad to have found a sustainable future solution for B + R so quickly and to have received the majority of the jobs,” says insolvency administrator Alexander Juchser. Despite a competitive and difficult market, he was able to stabilize and continue the business. In addition, the insolvency administrator, with the support of the management consultancy MPower based in Stuttgart and Siegen, quickly started an investor search. “Despite the difficult situation, the employees in particular, but also customers and suppliers, have remained loyal to the company and thus contributed significantly to the rescue. Without this partnership cohesion, the solution for the future would not have been possible” says Dr. Jüchser. Added to this was the early and timely status of the bankruptcy petition. This had significantly increased the company’s recovery prospects.
Perfect addition and further development to Industry 4.0
B + R is a specialist for special machines in the automotive and packaging industry. As a developer of individual solutions in the interplay between software, control and mechanics, B + R fits perfectly into the Schubert Group portfolio. “We try to constantly develop our group of companies and make it strong for the future. This is why B + R, with its great know-how in the field of automation, is an ideal complement, “says Reinhard Schubert, Managing Director of the Schubert Group. With the acquisition of B + R, the Schubert Group is the first supplier in the industry, that can also offer automation from its own hands. With this, the Schubert Group is bracing itself for the upcoming digitization of the industry. Thanks to the further development of communication from machine to machine, Industry 4.0 will be able to optimize manufacturing processes and efficiently shorten production cycles.
Product cleanup and offer optimization
As a result of the transferring restructuring, the company will operate as B + R GmbH in the future. In order for B + R to remain on solid footing in the future, it will be reorganized and restructured within the group of companies. This will lead to a product clean-up as well as an optimization of the offer. For example, the waterjet technology is closed due to non-utilization and too high costs. Of the original 63 employees, the Schubert Group takes on 40 employees. Only seven employees had to be dismissed, as their jobs disappear or have already been done by another person in the group. The other employees had already sought new jobs during the procedure.
The upheaval in the automotive industry had led to a significant decline in sales at B + R. In addition, there were further burdens due to start-up difficulties in setting up the new and important branch of business ‘Material Handling’. Ultimately, the company’s management decided on a legal restructuring process that has now made it possible to restart the company under the umbrella of a strong partner.