Production is scheduled to resume early next year
Poland’s Węglokoks has been selected as the tenant of a steel plant in Czestochowa, wGospodarce reports.
The relevant agreement with the company’s insolvency administrator was signed on November 19. To fulfill it, Huta Częstochowa sp. z o.o. was established to take over the employer’s obligations to the bankrupt plant’s employees and will be responsible for restoring its operations.
“Production is scheduled to resume early next year. The agreement will enable Węglokoks to use the plants’ production capacity to supply semi-finished products to the group’s steel segment companies, manage its supply chain more efficiently and reduce dependence on external suppliers,” the company said in a statement.
According to Węglokoks, the lease agreement is the first stage in the streamlining of the bankrupt company’s operations and serves mainly to protect against the devastation of production assets in the winter, to restore production and to finalize property issues.
According to WNP, the lease agreement was concluded for four months with an option to extend. This short term is explained by the fact that Adrian Dzwonek, a qualified restructuring advisor and insolvency administrator of Liberty Częstochowa, wants to start the procedure of finding a new owner as soon as possible. He expects the plant to be sold no later than February 2025.
Węglokoks is also likely to participate in the tender for the asset. As a tenant, it will have the right of first refusal. As Dzvonek explained, if someone offers a higher bid, the tenant will have the right to buy the plant for the highest price received at the tender. In case of his refusal, the company that offered the highest amount will do so.
The Czestochowa plant has a unique position in the market – it is the only plant in Poland that produces thick plates for the defense industry and for the production of wind towers, and it can be profitable in the long run.
It is worth noting that Węglokoks is a brand that unites companies in the steel, energy, and logistics industries. It is also the largest exporter of thermal coal in Poland.
As reported earlier, in October this year, Huta Liberty Częstochowa, one of the largest producers of heavy plates in Poland, was finally declared bankrupt.
This event followed a long period of financial difficulties for the company, which were exacerbated at the end of last year when production at the plant was halted. Attempts to resume operations in January and February 2024 were unsuccessful. In April, a “crisis headquarters” was set up to save the plant. However, growing debts to ZUS and other creditors forced the latter to file for bankruptcy.
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