Domo: Leuna plant secured through acquisition – Future company name to be Leuna-Polyamid GmbH

The shutdown of the Domo Caproleuna chemical plant in Leuna has been averted. The insolvency administrator for Domo Chemicals’ German sites, Prof. Dr. Lucas F. Flöther, has transferred the site to a rescue company founded by InfraLeuna and Leuna-Harze. Operations were transferred to the buyer on April 1. This secures both the Leuna plant and 436 jobs. At the same time, insolvency proceedings were formally opened for Domo Chemicals’ three German companies.

According to the insolvency administrator, continued operations had only been possible under exceptional circumstances since the end of December. As the company had virtually no funds available to finance ongoing operations, the plant would normally have had to shut down as early as January. However, switching off the facilities could not be carried out safely in practice due to winter temperatures and the associated environmental risks.

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Against this backdrop, the state of Saxony-Anhalt ordered, as part of a substitute performance measure, that the facilities continue operating in a reduced emergency mode until no later than the end of March. The aim was to avert danger and secure the site. This transitional solution also made it possible to search for an investor, which has now been achieved through the acquisition by InfraLeuna and Leuna-Harze. With the change of ownership, the buyer assumes full financing of business operations. State support can therefore be ended and the substitute performance measure lifted.

The company will in future operate under the name Leuna-Polyamid GmbH. The acquisition includes the Leuna site, including the real estate, as well as 436 of the roughly 500 employees most recently employed there. As part of the transfer, the insolvency administrator and the works council agreed on a reconciliation of interests and a social plan. Part of the workforce reduction will take place through voluntary resignations and the expiry of fixed-term employment contracts. 39 employees were made redundant for operational reasons.

Not part of the rescue solution is Domo Engineering Plastics GmbH in Premnitz, Brandenburg. The company, which has around 70 employees, will initially continue operating under the opened insolvency proceedings. According to the insolvency administrator, the creditors support the continuation of business operations while talks with potential investors are ongoing. In parallel with the insolvency administrator’s investor process, the Belgian parent company is also seeking solutions for the so-called finishing business, which includes the Premnitz site.

The three German subsidiaries of the Domo Chemicals Group filed for insolvency on December 25. The background was the failure of financing talks with lenders over the Christmas period.

Domo Caproleuna GmbH produces organic base chemicals in Leuna such as caprolactam, phenol and acetone, as well as polyamide 6. This plastic, also known as nylon 6, is used among other things in the automotive industry, the electrical and electronics sectors, and in consumer goods. Domo Engineering Plastics GmbH in Premnitz processes polyamide-6 plastics into compounds whose technical properties are specifically modified by additives.

Domo Chemicals GmbH in Leuna has no operating business of its own. It bundles the administrative functions of the three German companies. The company employs around 35 people and is to be shut down after a transition phase in April.

More information: www.domochemicals.com, www.floether-wissing.de

Leuna-Polyamid GmbH, Leuna/Halle (Saale), Germany

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