MirkoBoeddecker
Shocked by the news
BY MARIA WADENPOHL AND HARTMUT ZITZEN, 31 May 2005, 07:21
Reactions to the latest bad news for Leverkusen’s business community.
“We know absolutely nothing and are completely in limbo at the moment.” Gustav P. (name changed by the editors) is one of the 870 employees affected by the insolvency of Agfa-Photo GmbH. Yesterday afternoon, the 50-year-old from Leverkusen made the discovery everyone had feared during a visit to his bank: his May salary had not been paid.
However, this blow did not come as a complete surprise to Gustav P., as he had already heard rumours from his supervisor last Wednesday about the impending insolvency filing, which was finalised on Thursday. Gustav P. had also suspected for some time that the film business in Leverkusen had no future, as the coating machines were due to be converted to the production of films for camera displays by the end of this year.
The 50-year-old has no more idea what will happen next than his colleagues, who had turned up for work almost in full yesterday, only to find themselves standing there empty-handed because no more materials had been delivered. They are hoping for more precise information at the staff meeting scheduled for today, Tuesday, at 2 pm.
Peter Rompf from the “Agfa Image Centre” in the Bayer department store, however, was completely unprepared for the reported bankruptcy of Agfa-Photo GmbH. No, he had not been notified in advance. Nor was his business directly affected. The centre does not belong to Agfa-Photo. He estimated that the consequences of the insolvency would be the demise of Agfa’s film division and dwindling purchasing power in the retail sector. He felt sorry not only for the company’s workers. The constant negative reports were also anything but beneficial for the Leverkusen site.
His customers’ reactions ranged from genuine sympathy to bargain hunters who now suspect a clearance sale. At any rate, Rompf believed, Agfa Gevaert would probably buy back the remaining divisions. Wolfgang Greiss, too, has many years of experience with Agfa materials. His photography shop has been supplied with the materials since the late 1950s. “We were very proud back then when we received Agfa products,” recalls Greiss. After the news of the bankruptcy, he was “completely shaken”. Since the boom in digital photography, production of many Agfa film types had been discontinued. Recently, deliveries of the brand’s developers had also failed to arrive at his shop, the retailer noted thoughtfully.
Peter Moegenburg is “not directly affected”. In his Wiesdorf photography studio, he works with digital cameras. However, the development takes place in a lab in Manfort that uses Agfa materials, the photographer explains. Only black-and-white images are still produced by him personally, often using Agfa paper and chemicals as well. Moegenburg was just as surprised by the news of the insolvency as his colleague Greiss. Apart from the film division, Agfa’s products are, after all, market leaders.
Gast
Hi Mirko,
If you could just give the source now, or are we supposed to guess?
I’m putting my money on *Bild*.
So far, there’s been no official announcement that the shrinking analogue market
is to blame. Nowhere does it say that Agfa film is no longer available, or that this
will change in future, so, who fancies a bit of fortune-telling?
Or do you know more?
After all, insolvency doesn’t mean bankruptcy!
Regards, Stephan
Gast
Mr Schröer (Maco) gave a talk at the Fine Art Forum in Wetzlar at the weekend. Maco has a strategic partnership with Agfa. Among other things, he announced that Agfa paper is manufactured in France and that black-and-white films come from Belgium (including Rodinal). If I have understood correctly, these parts of the business are not affected by the insolvency and the black-and-white range will continue to be available.
Best regards, Otto Beyer!
Gast
Hi Otto,
Mr Schroeder talks a lot, or gets others to do the talking (Walter!), when the day drags on....
Best wishes, Stephan
MirkoBoeddecker
The article was from the *Kölner Stadtanzeiger* and is now old news.
It was the first clue I’d found that had a reference to the disappearance of €372 million over six months.
In that sense, it does give one pause for thought.
In other words: it wasn’t necessarily the shrinking market and Agfa’s inability to adapt that were at play here (as all the other headlines had suggested), but rather embezzlers who internally siphoned off millions within the group at the expense of film and paper production.
The owner of Agfa is well known here as the ‘turnaround specialist’ behind Elpro and other formerly successful East German companies.
At the time of the takeover, the real estate assets were worth 200 million DEM and more, and by the time Mr Eman had finished with them, they were bankrupt and all the money had ‘disappeared’.
But let’s wait and see what the insolvency administrator finds.
Apparently, 20 million has resurfaced this morning.
Mirko
Gast
Hi Mirco,
It doesn't look too bad at all – have a look here:
http://www.wdr.de/themen/wirtschaft/wirtsc...tyle=wirtschaft
Best wishes, Stephan
MirkoBoeddecker
Stephan,
I never actually said it looked bad.
See my first post.
I signed it with ‘full of hope’ ;)
But then when the news came out about the missing millions and that production would only be halted for film and paper, it all sounded very much like a deliberate corporate break-up to avoid having to pay severance pay to the employees....
Let’s wait and see what happens. I don’t know much more than you do.
In any case, the entire Agfa range has been in our catalogue for a week now – surprisingly, for the first time in 12 years, we’ve been given prices that allow us to compete with other suppliers.
For us, however, this is purely a service to you. With branded products, we can barely cover the transport costs and handling.
I pay the wages through sales of ADOX and Foma. Ilford, Fuji and Agfa are simply in and out, and we’re barely covering our costs. If there’s even one cancellation or complaint, we’re immediately in the red...
It doesn’t surprise me that hardly any dealers are still involved in that.
But you do what you can.
It would certainly be bad for us if Agfa were to disappear, because then the largest German buyer of intermediate products would be lost, and we – or rather our other partners – have often been served as a small ‘add-on’ to Agfa purchases.
Best regards,
Mirko
Gast
Hello,
For those who are interested, here is a scanned article from today’s edition of the taz NRW (1 June 2005). I’ll refrain from commenting; after all, everyone can read it for themselves and form their own ‘opinion’. I haven’t corrected the text for any scanning or other errors.
Best regards, Lothar
State government urged to save Agfa jobs
Local politicians want to save the long-established photography company from bankruptcy with state support. However, it is still unclear why Agfa-Foto GmbH in Leverkusen has had to file for insolvency
KÖN taz Following Agfa-Photo’s insolvency, politicians are calling for financial support for the long-established company. Walter Mende, leader of the SPD parliamentary group in Leverkusen, is appealing to the current state government as well as to the CDU and FDP, the winners of the North Rhine-Westphalia election, to campaign for the rescue of the long-established company.
Agfa-Photo’s main factory is located in Leverkusen, where 870 people are employed. However, parts of production have been suspended since Monday. Following the announcement of the insolvency, some suppliers have stopped delivering materials; according to the local works council, a quarter of the workforce now has nothing to do. “It is crucial for Agfa-Photo GmbH that production resumes,” says local SPD politician Walter Mende. Perhaps this could be made possible through bridging loans. If necessary, the state must provide a guarantee for this.
It remains unclear why Agfa-Photo GmbH had to file for insolvency in the first place. After all, the company was only established at the end of 2004, when Agfa-Gevaert sold its core photography division to a group of financial investors and managers. As recently as March, the company’s management is said to have described the situation to the supervisory board as “solid”.
As it now turns out, the sale is apparently far from complete: according to press reports, a dispute recently arose between Agfa-Gevaert and Hartmut Emans of Agfa-Photo’s new majority shareholder, Nanno-Beteiligungsholding, over the purchase price. Emans is said to have haggled the price down from 175.5 million euros to 112 million, and later reportedly wanted to pay nothing at all. In response, the former parent company Agfa-Gevaert is said to have frozen Agfa-Photo accounts to which it still has access. 25 million euros are now reportedly stuck in Belgium.
Are the 1,800 employees of Agfa-Photo GmbH, whose jobs are now under threat, therefore victims of a dispute over the purchase price? That would be an “unbelievable situation” even “in times of heightened capitalism”, rants Walter Mende. However, the SPD politician does not wish to rule out a “fixed game” between Agfa-Gevaert and the new investors in Agfa-Photo GmbH, with the aim of “being able to send the employees into unemployment at no cost”. In any case, however, Agfa-Gevaert must be forced “by all legal and political means” to release the frozen accounts.
The CDU, which will form the next government in North Rhine-Westphalia, is holding back on rescue plans for the time being. The designated Minister-President, Jürgen Rüttgers, announced that, once the government has been formed, he would hold talks with the business community to clarify what framework conditions are necessary “to prevent such developments”. “It hurts to see a long-established company like Agfa get into such a difficult situation,” he said. The SPD Ministry of Economic Affairs declined to comment. “Discussions are taking place with Agfa-Photo,” a spokesperson merely confirmed. DIRK ECKERT
Gast
I've had enough, and I'm fed up with all the news. It's a shame you can always
smell an election campaign in the air.
Foto Impex – my shop!!!
Gast
Come on Frank, what colour is the Agfa logo?
It’s obvious the CDU won’t get involved in that,
it’s just like with Leica… :-)
Hi Mirco,
I wasn’t trying to imply anything about you; the report was just written to tug at the heartstrings,
without revealing any significant facts that weren’t already known.
How do you actually get hold of the Kölner Stadtanzeiger? Is it available in Berlin as well?
Regards, Stephan
mau
The so-called Agfadrama should be viewed within the broader context of the Bayer Group and its development. I live in the region and grew up here. Many of my friends and acquaintances have been affected by these developments; very few could have imagined or believed such a thing possible.
Once upon a time, people felt secure under the Bayer cross and would not let anyone speak ill of their employer; today, thanks to a clever legal manoeuvre, nothing remains of that former grandeur.
When the fiercely fought battle to save (our) railway repair works (Leverkusen) in Opladen began five years ago now, the employees at Chemie am Rhein mostly just shook their heads. They did not understand the problem of livelihoods being swept away.
There are many differences: in our case, only 1,000 jobs were at stake; 95% of us were unionised; we did not allow ourselves to be carved up piece by piece; our employer would never have dared to withhold wages. Our works council went on hunger strike twice on our behalf, with the workforce joining in during the last hunger strike. Over three long years, we repeatedly organised actions ranging from motorcades to works meetings lasting several days.
The Kölner Stadtanzeiger will never be able to report on anything like this in connection with Agfa or Bayer.
Do you know why? 70% of the workforce don’t bother joining the union; the works council is fragmented; anyone who wants a different colour for the toilet door collects signatures of support in these plants and puts forward an election list. There are still plenty of people there who believe nothing will happen to them.
Twenty years ago, in my anger at the half-hearted fuss at Bayer, after a few beers too many, I always used to say: ‘Watch out for your bloody Bayer, it’ll set off on its own journey without you.’
Unfortunately, I was proved right; nobody deserves what’s going on there at the moment.
We, the AW Opladen, set a high tempo in the fight for our plant; yes, we lost, but with the certainty that we had done everything possible. It wasn’t worth it for us, but we paved the way for solutions for many colleagues from other affected repair plants and cleared the path for better job security. I don’t regret a single minute I spent on industrial action or sitting in the hunger tent.
I feel sorry, first and foremost, for the people whose livelihoods depend on the red rhombus.
From my own painful experience: politics can only help effectively on a very small scale. In our case, the CDU people were always there whenever the press was there to take a dig at the state government. Now they’ve sidelined the comrades. They have a completely different idea of work, working conditions, security and pay.
One more little dig at the so-called CDU: the slogan ‘Catch up, catch up, overtake’ comes from Walter Ulbricht.
A former member of the FDJ managed to infiltrate the enemy and put Ulbricht’s legacy into practice.
When I think of Germany at night.............................................
uworischki
