Tadano Demag GmbH and Tadano Faun GmbH, manufacturers of all-terrain cranes and crawler cranes, reached an important milestone in the restructuring of the companies on December 23 last year, with their management submitting restructuring plans to the Zweibrücken District Court in Zweibrücken, Germany.
Japan’s Tadano, the owner of the two companies, said in a statement that in the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis, the two companies require restructuring in order to continue in business and the submission to the court is the first step in the process.
In the next step, the insolvency proceedings for Tadano Demag and Tadano Faun are expected to be opened this month. This corresponds to the usual procedure of protective shield proceedings, and accordingly, the restructuring of the companies is progressing as planned, said Tadano.
The companies will continue to be managed independently under the leadership of CEO Jens Ennen during this second phase of the protective shield proceedings. An expert restructuring lawyer will continue to closely support the management as general representative, with another renowned German restructuring expert acting as provisional trustee of Tadano Demag and Tadano Faun.
After the anticipated opening of proceedings in January 2021, implementation of the restructuring plan will begin under the regulations of the German Insolvency Code. Another important step in the process will be the discussion and ballot meeting with the creditors, which the court is expected to hold in mid/end-February. Company management currently expects to be able to exit the protective shield proceedings at the end of the first quarter of 2021.
“The plan envisages a restructuring of the companies in all key areas. The most important elements are the organisational realignment, the improvement of profitability as well as the modernisation and optimisation of the product portfolio. A large part of the measures is aimed at further coordination between the two locations in Zweibrücken and Lauf and implementing more efficient processes. The better use of synergies offers great potential for improving competitiveness. In addition, a far broader and more complete range of lifting equipment solutions will be available for the customers in the future, creating greater potential for larger package deals. The customer experience will be enhanced. A number of new products will already be launched within the next few months,” said the Tadano statement.
Business operations will continue as usual under the protective shield proceedings and all existing and new orders will be fulfilled according to the regulations. Regular services such as repairs, maintenance, spare parts deliveries and warranty work will also continue as normal.
Jens Ennen, CEO, Tadano Demag and Tadano Faun, said: “With the completion and submission of the restructuring plan, we have taken an important step in the reorganisation of Tadano Demag and Tadano Faun. The results and rapid progress we have already been able to achieve in the first weeks of the protective shield proceedings make us very confident about the future and future competitiveness of Tadano Demag and Tadano Faun.”
According to Tadano, a restructuring of the companies was “absolutely necessary in view of increasing competitive pressure due to the enormous economic challenges that had been significantly exacerbated by the Corona crisis”.
“The aim of the restructuring measures is to position the companies in the future in an economically viable way, to be able to serve the needs of customers even better with products and services, and thus to contribute in the best possible way to the strategic goals of the Tadano Group.”
