The BSH offer was on the table until 19 April, but because it was Sunday the contract could be signed on 17 or 18 April. On Friday 17 April, Dr Marcin Dudarski from JP Weber, who acted as a legal representative of the BSH Group, and official receiver in bankruptcy Anna Łukaszun singed a notary deed to confirm a preliminary contract for the sale of the Fagor Mastercook plant in ul. Żmigrodzka, Wroclaw, to the BSH Group.
"The process to select the buyer has finally come to an end. Now we need to execute the agreement," says Dr Marcin Dudarski.
"We are extremely happy with this major breakthrough in the process of selling the assets of the bankrupt Fagor Mastercook plant and we are hoping the transaction will soon be completed. I am also convinced that this is a good decision for all parties concerned and for the city. We can see a huge potential for future growth in Wroclaw's household appliances industry and I can assure you that we are committed to stay here for a long time," says Konrad Pokutycki, President of the Board at BSH Sprzęt Gospodarstwa Domowego. "This transaction is not only a chance to expand our operations in Poland, but also to stimulate growth in the BSH Group as a whole.
The notary deed confirming the preliminary sales contract is 54 pages in length. The deed covers five land registers, over twenty plots of land and more than thirty buildings. The preliminary contract stipulates how the Fagor Mastercook assets will be taken over by the BSH.
"The final sales contract will probably be signed after summer holidays, says Dr Marcin Dudarski.
A quick reminder: the German investors were going to pay 90 million PLN for the production site and invest another 120 million in its development. They put 5 million more on the table at the final stages of the negotiations, and the money will be used to provide gratuities for redundant workers. The BSH Group is going to resume production and create 500 jobs by the end of 2019.
The plant in a tight corner
Their manufacturing contracts terminate at the end of April. It is now known that 753 employees will lose their jobs (the plant employed 1300 people prior to its bankruptcy). The agreement with the BSH Group stipulates that those workers who are now being laid off will be reemployed as soon as the plant resumes production.
"We have an idea for the former Fagor plant and a plan to modernise production and resume employment. The investment in Wroclaw is carried out as part of the long-term strategy to double the global turn-over of our group by 2015," says Konrad Pokutycki. The company has many years of experience in carrying out successful processes to modernise, develop and innovate its production sites. "Our expertise from Łódź, Rzeszów and Warsaw and other locations throughout the world is the best evidence that we are responsible employers," adds Konrad Pokutycki.
Gratuities for the staff
"We find it crucial that workers receive salaries and gratuities. Only then will they be able to seek new jobs where they live," says Lech Bąk, Chairman of the NSZZ "Solidarność" Workers' Council at Fagor Mastercook.
The trade unions emphasise that workers are guaranteed to receive gratuities in the amount proportional to their seniority. On average, they will receive an equivalent of 9 monthly salaries (ca. 20 thousand PLN).
What about workers and suppliers
The Mayor of Wroclaw announced in mid-December that the city was going to work with the Agency for the Wroclaw Metropolitan Area Development to support Fagor's workers in fining new jobs and suppliers in reestablishing cooperation with other manufacturers. The city presented two state aid and support programmes in January.
"We came up with a programme to closely cooperate with the District Labour Office and the manufacturers of household appliances in the region who seek new workers," says Dariusz Ostrowski, President of the Agency for the Wroclaw Metropolitan Area Development.
Additional subsidies to help redundant workers in setting up their own business, attend professional training or change their qualifications are to be transferred by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy.
The sales contract promised in December
Initially, The notary deed to confirm the preliminary contract for the sale of the Fagor Mastercook plant in Wroclaw to the BSH Group was to be signed in December last year. Consent was given by the Creditors' Committee and the court. The Mayor of Wroclaw Rafał Dutkiewicz thus commented on the BSH Groups's decision to invest in Wroclaw:
"The plant will be taken over by a large manufacturer who is able to foster development instead of sustaining agony, which might happen if we cooperated with other and less reliable investors. I believe that Bosch Siemens is the best choice there is for the future of the home appliances business in Wroclaw. They know all the tricks of the trade."
The deadline to sign the agreement was extended several times, as the former official receiver in bankruptcy Teresa Kalisz was against the take-over, and she took her stand against the local commercial court, the Creditors' Committee and the staff representatives. She finally resigned on Wednesday 15 April. She did this when on Monday 13 April, the Commercial Court of Law in Wrocla passed two verdicts: to impose a fine of 30 thousand PLN to official receiver Teresa Kalisz (for the second time) and to dismiss her from office. The court also appointed Anna Łukaszun as substitute receiver.
BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH is the largest home appliances manufacturer in the whole of Europe and one of the largest brands in the industry worldwide. In 2013, the company disclosed an annual profit of 10.5 billion PLN. Currently, the BSH Group operates 42 plants in 13 countries in Europe, the US, Latin America and Asia. According to Puls Biznesu, the BSH Group has invested 500 million EUR in Poland to date. The business manufactures dishwashers, washing machines and tumble dryers in Łódź, where they employ over 2 thousand people. They also bought Zelmer. The company also runs eight shared services centres which employ 500 people as well as three logistics centres.
