Gast
Oh dear, now them too – are we all going to be snapping away with our camera phones next? I hope things can somehow move forward. It’s bound to be tough for the garment manufacturers as well.
Best regards,
Marwan
Gast
Hello,
It’s not really surprising. I recently had a look at the expiry dates on some film (including Agfa) in a supermarket (you can’t find this sort of thing anywhere else), and most of them were about to expire or had already done so.
Only the black-and-white films (Agfa APX 100) had ‘2010’ printed on them, so it seems sales are still going strong there.
In any case, more film will have to be reordered once the old stock has run out, but in smaller quantities, and Agfa should prepare for that.
The problem, however, is that phasing out production gradually to adapt to the market is simply very difficult.
Let’s hope so...
Incidentally, it seems to me that Agfa would be better off expanding its black-and-white range, as that market is probably more stable, albeit smaller than the colour market.
Overall, though, it’s alarming, because I’m slowly coming to believe that in a few years’ time there will be no colour film left, or at least no good quality colour film.
As for black-and-white films and papers, things aren’t looking too bad there; they’ll probably be around for a long time yet, and colour papers will certainly be available for some time to come.
Roland
MirkoBoeddecker
Nothing is as bad as it’s made out to be in the media.
Ilford: is bankrupt, but we’re ordering as usual
Ferrania: was bankrupt, but the region of Liguria (an Italian province) stepped in, and we’re ordering as usual
Forte: is in insolvency, and orders are a bit of a struggle, but we have almost everything in stock
These insolvencies are often a sign of short-term financial difficulties rather than evidence of a fundamentally hopeless situation.
The company was spun off from the Gevaert Group with shaky financing and a great deal of optimism.
Things like that can happen.
At Agfa, it is currently wages that can no longer be paid.
They do, however, have pre-produced goods in stock.
It’s just that not enough of these have been sold to maintain cash flow.
The situation is now quite clear: employees cannot be paid, so insolvency must be filed so that staff and workers can receive their wages as quickly as possible from the Federal Employment Agency’s insolvency fund, thereby averting any social crises.
This is all quite well regulated in Germany, and that’s all for now.
Let’s wait for the first words from the insolvency administrator.
Mirko,
who remains hopeful.
Gast
Hello everyone,
What’s the story with this American investment group that’s supposedly taken over Agfa? Wasn’t it the same with others too?
Best regards,
Marwan
andreasbrigachtal
Hello everyone,
As soon as I’ve emptied my wine cellar, I’ll be filling it with Rodinal! I’ll be cramming the freezer full of APX and buying a second fridge for the lovely paper. ;)
It’s not the end of the world, and I’m sure Mirko will be delighted with any hoarding of those wonderful Agfa products. :)
As long as he can still deliver them! :D
Andreas
Gast
...or maybe not; if everyone does that, he, Agfa and all the others will have to shut up shop.
Roland
