The Wiesheu Group will continue the business operations of the bakery oven manufacturer WACHTEL. The move was approved by WACHTEL’s creditors’ committee and the administrator in its ongoing insolvency proceedings. The Wiesheu Group will concentrate on the Saxon WACHTEL location in Pulsnitz and expand it, while gradually phasing out production at WACHTEL’s headquarters in Hilden near Düsseldorf, throughout this year. According to the new agreement, the Wiesheu Group will take over the property in Pulsnitz as well as the necessary fixed and current assets as part of an asset deal. WACHTEL will continue to be run as a separate company and will initially employ around 115 people.
WACHTEL GmbH had filed for insolvency under self-administration at the beginning of December 2022. The insolvency proceedings were opened on March 1, 2023.
WACHTEL announced there are plans to concentrate the production of the Infra and Columbus deck ovens, Atlas rack ovens and Piccolo in-store ovens in Pulsnitz and to expand this production site further in the coming years. In addition to Großbottwar near Stuttgart, the Wiesheu Group has a production site in Wolfen in Saxony-Anhalt and branches in Western and Eastern Europe, the USA and Asia.
Marcus Gansloser, Wiesheu Managing Director, comments: “I am very pleased about this ideal addition to our technology and product portfolio. WACHTEL, with a 100-year tradition, can in the future, in conjunction with Wiesheu, focus fully on expanding its core competencies – top-quality products with top service. We will do everything we can to ensure that WACHTEL and Wiesheu customers can benefit from the well-known innovative strength of both companies and from our international network.”
Dr. Christian Gerloff (Kanzlei Gerloff Liebler Rechtsanwälte), who managed the process as Chief Restructuring Officer (CRO), adds: “In view of the major challenges currently facing the industry due to the sharp rise in energy prices and the resulting drop in demand, the investor process was anything but easy for WACHTEL. With the Wiesheu Group, the company is now getting a new owner who is one of the established names in the industry and has a global focus.”
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Photo: WACHTEL Piccolo Pro. Credit: WACHTEL
