The plant in Königsbronn will be taken over by the Rheinische Mittelstandsbeteiligungs GmbH (RMB) The new company will operate under the name SHW High Precision Casting Technologies GmbH The purchase price was not disclosed by the company The purchase agreement was signed in April but the acquisition is subject to two conditions including the conclusion of a new collective agreement with the union IG Metall All 163 employees should be able to continue working at the plant The RMB is a strategic investor with experience in the foundry industry The investor wants synergies between his existing portfolio companies and SHW especially in sales and administrative activities The long-established company had to file for bankruptcy in 2013 all three SHW Casting Technologies companies and the holding company have been self-operating it has been possible to set up the company in Königsbronn so that it can operate successfully again Since the application for insolvency in 2017 the business operations of the foundry company have continued uninterrupted Plant profitable again There are renovation measures at the plant in Königsbronn currently taking place: In addition to improved controlling and optimized cost center accounting which is reflected in a high order backlog of around 15 million euros The company in Königsbronn recently returned to profitability sales of around 28 million euros are expected I would like to receive the bi-weekly Foundry-Planet newsletter with all latest news Plus the special newsletters – all can be cancelled anytime and at no cost While not as masterful as director Oliver Hirschbiegel’s earlier “Downfall,” this is nonetheless a fascinating and little-known tale a museum has been erected to honor would-be Hitler assassin and carpenter Georg Elser little is known about this country craftsman who might have changed the course of history As directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel (who made the masterful 2004 film “Downfall”) “13 Minutes” illuminates Elser’s story in a mostly compelling fashion his pockets full of schematics and suspicious gear a bomb explodes in the Munich Bürgerbräukeller immediately behind the Führer’s lectern The film intercuts between the harsh questioning and torture Elser endures from top Nazi brass after his failed assassination attempt and a portrait of the resistance fighter as a young man Before his imprisonment Elser (Christian Friedel “The White Ribbon”) had lived in a rural town and fallen in love with Elsa (Katharina Schuttler He had also watched his friend Josef Schurr (David Zimmerschied) As he watched the atrocities committed by the Nazi party He grew increasingly resolute in his conviction to prevent more bloodshed Friedel — who looks a bit like a young brown-eyed Frank Sinatra — has a thoughtful which speaks volumes in a role that requires he be in nearly every frame of the movie He is a relatively sympathetic figure: musician roguish ladies’ man with a sarcastic sense of humor with authentic settings and an involving structure but it’s undercut somewhat by a rather flat love story Too often an unnecessary relationship is shoehorned into a film Elser’s relationship with the married Elsa is key to our understanding of his character It reveals Elser’s nervy chutzpah; he carried on a love affair with Elsa while living as a lodger under the roof of the house she shared with her husband and children The film posits that a man with this kind of resolute independence is also capable of strong political convictions But their many scenes together have only intermittent chemistry That Elser acted alone is a point that Nazi officials couldn’t wrap their heads around He was beaten in an effort to reveal accomplices Elser stands firm: he planned and executed the plot entirely on his own One of the key officials interrogating him is Nazi police captain Arthur Nebe (Burghart Klaubner Klaubner makes a lasting impression in the role is ultimately not very illuminating and grows repetitive but we don’t necessarily need to see it for as long as we do.) One of the most intriguing aspects of the film doesn’t involve Elser directly: We get a vivid sense of how fascism takes over a town and changes the residents another placard is erected that announces: “Jews Not Wanted.” Young children A woman with a Jewish boyfriend is humiliated in the town square Village shops slowly begin to incorporate Nazi propaganda Traditional local festivals morph into Nazi rallies transformed into a resistance fighter by what he saw around him and his fears about the future but the fact that he could clearly see what many who more educated could not is a fascinating point of the film The screenplay, by father-daughter writing team Fred Breinersdorfer (“Sophie Scholl: The Final Days”) and Leonie-Claire Breinersdorfer “Why do they follow this gangster?” Elser says to Schurr about Hitler We have to attack the leadership….We can’t wait till it’s too late.” The title refers to Hitler exiting his Nov anniversary speech in Munich 13 minutes earlier than expected Had the German leader stayed for the anticipated time the course of history would have been radically altered What becomes of Elser may surprise those unfamiliar with his story The timing of his eventual fate is particularly resonant as is his remorse — not for trying to kill Hitler (“How can one man fail as horribly as I?” he asks rhetorically.) While not as powerful as the brilliant “Downfall,” which chronicled Hitler’s final days “13 Minutes” is definitely a story worth telling intriguingly timed and it’s certainly authentic — the filmmakers employed Peter Steinbach scientific director of Berlin’s Memorial to German Resistance One of the Nazi officials ponders how an “ethnic German” could hate Hitler so much when the Fascist leader was “making Germany great.” Again