The North Rhine-Westphalian automotive supplier Borgers has filed for bankruptcy. The Düsseldorf lawyer Frank Kebekus had been appointed provisional insolvency administrator, his office confirmed on Monday. The “Wirtschaftswoche” had first reported on the bankruptcy.
The company with around 6000 employees has been in crisis for years. The traditional company from Bocholt produces cladding, damping and insulation from natural fibers and plastics and counts Volkswagen to its biggest customers. In 2020, Borgers had made a loss of 68 million euros with a turnover of 660 million euros in the group, more recent figures are not available.
In view of the weak margins and the declining car sales figures, automotive suppliers are considered to be one of the sectors that are particularly prone to insolvency in the looming recession. Borgers is one of the largest companies in the industry to have gone bankrupt.
The mechanical engineering division with the subsidiaries Olbrich and R+S had already been sold to the US company Matthews International in June for 45 million dollars (43 million euros). It accounted for around a fifth of sales. The core business with the automotive industry was also up for sale. Borgers actually wanted to have found a buyer by July, but warned in June that the Ukraine-War makes negotiations with interested parties more difficult.
Just over a year ago, Borgers rearranged its loans after the Corona crisis. According to the report by “WirtschaftsWoche”, Borgers had already pledged “all significant assets” to the lenders in 2020. In the meantime, the prospects continued to darken. According to the report, there were heated arguments between the banks and Volkswagen over the distribution of the burden.