MB administrator confident of selling debt-struck firm

Finishing manufacturer MB was two weeks away from running out of money when it filed for bankruptcy on 23 July.

The German firm, which turned over nearly €14 million ($16.4 million) in 2011, attributed insolvency to poor sales in the quarter leading up to Drupa.

However, the company claimed that its receipt of orders had stabilised during and since the fair, showing "promising" signs for the company’s survival.

The bankruptcy court in Villingen-Schwenningen has appointed insolvency expert Martin Mucha of law firm Gruß Brugger as provisional liquidator to MB while it continues to trade as normal.

Mucha said he expected to find an investor to take on the business as a going concern before November and was adamant that selling the business off in parts was not an option.

Mucha also claimed to have been in talks with a number of potential buyers, including rivals, financial investors and those looking to synergise the company with their own.

Under German insolvency law, the government will pay salaries for MB’s 150 employees for a maximum of three months.

Matthew Benn, the managing director of local distributor Fab Equipment, told ProPrint that local customers had no cause for concern regarding servicing and spare parts on their MB machines.

He also said it would not be an issue of finding an investor but selecting the right one.

"MB have been the leader in innovation for folding and mailing machine automation for the last 15-20 years," he said.

"It is always the ground-breakers that do the hard yards to pave the way for new technologies. Unfortunately if it crosses with a time of recession it is even tougher. 

"But MB is going through a very similar situation as some of the other big names in the printing industry who have [experienced financial problems] in the past four years and have come away stronger and fitter."

This article originally appeared at printweek.com