Against the background of the loss of orders as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated sales shortfall, packaging machines manufacturer emkon. has filed for insolvency proceedings, the company reported.

The German company, which was founded in 2000, produces high-performance packaging machines for well-known international customers in the food & non-food, tobacco, cosmetics, hygiene and pharmaceutical industries. emkon. already had to deal with market problems in 2019. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a further decline in sales and financial difficulties in recent months, which the company was no longer able to compensate for, the press release said.
In an initial statement, temporary insolvency administrator Dr Christian Willmer announced that the wages and salaries of the approximately 100 employees were secured until the end of July 2020 and that business operations could be maintained.
"After an initial review of the situation, we are cautiously optimistic that restructuring opportunities can be taken in insolvency proceedings. The good news for the team at emkon. and the customers is that business operations can be maintained for the time being. This significantly improves the chances of a refurbishment. The team at emkon. struggled for a long time to cope with the economic problems, but the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have been too much of a burden. This could no longer be compensated for. In the coming days and weeks, we will work together with the management to further stabilize business operations. At the same time, we will seek to talk to potential investors. (…) The outlook for a stable future is not bad, but there is still a lot of work ahead of us," he said.