An insolvency court in Nuremberg / Germany opened proceedings on 1 December in the case of domestic car industry supplier Bolta-Werke (Leinburg; www.bolta.com), and justice officials appointed Volker Böhm from German law firm Schultze & Braun (Achern; www.schultze-braun.de) insolvency administrator, a position he had already held in provisional capacity.

“The situation at Bolta-Werke has stabilised considerably in recent weeks”, Böhm said. “In particular, call-offs by customers have not fallen further and are even slightly above expectations.”

Nevertheless, the company’s situation remains fraught with uncertainty, at least in the short to medium term. “Bolta-Werke exclusively supplies the automotive industry”, Böhm said. “However, this continues to be impacted by supply shortages of semiconductors as well as key feedstocks in production. This will continue to affect automotive supplier sales for quite some time.” In view of this, he pointed out, it will be crucial that Bolta-Werke secures materials to remain able to deliver.

Bolta-Werke manufactures surface-finished components such as nameplates and trim strips as well as large and complex parts. With 2,400 employees worldwide, the company reported sales of around EUR 103m in 2018.

The supplier reportedly slipped into insolvency due to a slump in sales triggered by the semiconductor crisis in the automotive industry. Bolta’s operations in the US and Mexico are said to be unaffected by the insolvency.

Other automotive parts suppliers also filed for insolvency due to the current market situation, such as German subsidiaries from Poland’s Boryszew and the Heinze Group (see Plasteurope.com of 01.11.2021).

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