Donauer Solartechnik which has specialised in PV wholesale for more than 17 years filed for insolvency on Monday at the Weilheim district court due to the impending threat of illiquidity. Around 90 employees will be affected by this move. The company stated that it has been trying to prevent this situation for several months now by working on a merger deal with a strong partner. The merger was already well underway and ready for the notary for contractual signing on October, 10.
The Gilching municipality however threw the deal under the bus just before the final agreement was made. This is from Donauer Solartechnik's point of view at least. The prerequisite for a successful agreement with the partners was to cooperate with the municipality to find a solution for the sale of the company's properties in Gilching. Should the sale of the properties fall through, the threat of insolvency was imminent. The mayor of Gilching was aware of this situation as well as the requirement to come to a consensus by October, 1. A special council convened on October, 3, but the meeting was inconclusive. Donauer Solartechnik criticizes this decision, or rather lack of, since all parties were informed of the time crunch and risks involved.
The Donauer representative was not able to take part in the council meeting and it was apparently also concluded after a mere 30 minutes. Donauer's CEO Spencer Hippe said this time frame was hardly enough to explain the complex application situation to the 24-member council. The management board and the lawyers at Donauer Solartechnik are "bewildered by the ignorance and indifference". This has been called a "slap in the face" for the 90 employees and there is room to sue for damages. Still this is not going to hinder the loss of many jobs. The company did not provide anymore information to the questions posed by pv magazine.
Translated and edited by Shamsiah Ali-Oettinger
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