The Superior Industries wheel plant in Werdohl but the timeline for resuming alloy rim production remains uncertain the new owner faces other challenges that need resolution Tyrepress and Tyres & Accessories subscribers can log in below to read the full article If you are not yet a Tyrepress or Tyres & Accessories subscriber Subscribe now If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com The complex situation surrounding the insolvency of Superior Industries Production Germany and BBS Autotechnik has taken another turn Following the recent collapse of BBS Autotechnik’s bid to acquire the Superior plant in Werdohl Superior’s insolvency administrator announced that investors linked with new BBS parent company were considering acquiring the plant directly which may also explain the silence surrounding the sale of BBS brand trademark rights raising concerns as time begins to run out You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience Frankfurt and New York offices of international law firm Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP advised Superior Industries Group one of the world's leading manufacturers of aluminum wheels for the automotive industry in the successful completion of its European transformation Weil advised the German subsidiary Superior Industries Production Germany GmbH in relation to protective shield proceedings under German insolvency law (Schutzschirmverfahren) Even though the economic circumstances did not allow a turnaround of the Werdohl facility Superior Industries Group was able to relocate the production to Poland within an extremely tight time frame Delivery to OEM customers continued without any restrictions through the entire relocation process the majority of the staff affected by the transformation could be re-employed through the implementation of a transfer company Weil already advised the company ahead of the transformation in relation to obtaining a new term loan financing this involved Superior Industries Production Germany GmbH as well as other German Superior Industries group companies In the context of the European transformation Weil advised on the implementation of all of the restructuring measures with a continuation of the financing While production was relocated and the European business transformed the term loan financing was extended in August 2024 in order to redeem a USD 200 million bond issued at the level of Superior Industries International The transformation of the European business activities of Superior Industries Group was one of Weil's most prominent restructuring matters in Europe and is testament to the Firm's exceptional expertise in transatlantic restructurings The latest views and developments from Weil Four people have died and dozens are thought to be missing after buildings collapsed in flooding in Rhineland-Palatinate Flood-related fatalities were also reported in North Rhine-Westphalia and one person was reported missing in Saxony Update: The district of Euskirchen in North Rhine-Westphalia reported at least 8 people have died in catastrophic flooding in the area after the Steinbachtalsperre dam threatened to break Telecommunications in the area have failed and emergency service numbers are not working Authorities said people were being rescued from floods in Schleiden Two on-duty emergency workers died in separate incidents in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia on 14 July 2021 A firefighter collapsed and died during a storm-related mission in the area of ​​the Werdohl-Elverlingsen power plant near Werdohl A second firefighter died in flood waters in the town of Altena in the Märkischer district Meanwhile the nearby city of Hagen declared a state of emergency and called for people to evacuate their homes after the Volme river burst its banks Authorities urged people who live in close proximity to Hagen rivers (especially the Volme) to self-evacuate and move to higher areas you should move to higher floors so that you can be rescued from there if necessary,” authorities said Firefighters rescued several drivers from vehicles stuck in a flooded underpass in the city authorities in the city of Düsseldorf called on residents in the Grafenberg district to leave their homes on 14 July because of the threat of flooding from the rising levels of the Düssel river Around 350 houses are thought to be affected Firefighters are working to shore up flood protection for a 700 metre stretch of embankment along the river The Düssel river reached an historic high of 2.65 metres at Gerresheim on 14 July 2021 Severe flooding has also affected the neighbouring state of Rhineland-Palatinate rivers in 15 locations were at the highest warning level Late on 14 July several buildings collapsed in Schuld in the district of Ahrweiler as a result of flooding As of early 15 July local police confirmed 4 people had died Police said numerous people were reported missing and as many as 50 people had taken refuge on roofs of buildings to escape the floods About 25 more buildings in the area were thought to be at the risk Flooding has affected other areas of Ahrweiler district and officials declared a state of emergency. Dozens of houses along the Ahr river have been evacuated and all bridges have been closed. According to Südwestrundfunk (SWR) a regional public broadcasting corporation in the southwest of Germany reported one person died in a flooded cellar of a house in Heimersheim As of late 14 July the Ahr river at Altenahr reached record levels of 5.75 metres well above the previous high of 3.71 metres set in 2016 The district of Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm also declared a state of emergency All bridges across the Prüm River have been closed Firefighters have responded to hundreds of incidents of flooding Roads have been closed in Vulkaneifel district leaving some villages cut off The district has also declared a state of emergency flooding in eastern Germany caused severe damage in the district of Erzgebirgskreis in the state of Saxony on 13 July Emergency workers are searching for a policeman who was swept away by flood waters in the town of Jöhstadt while trying to protect his home #BREAKING: At least 30 people missing following collapse of several homes after heavy rain triggered severe flooding in western Germany's Eifel: SWR broadcaster pic.twitter.com/ycEf0BpQN5 — I.E.N. (@BreakingIEN) July 15, 2021 Richard Davies is the founder of floodlist.com and reports on flooding news Cookies | Privacy | Contacts © Copyright 2025 FloodList This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page As reported yesterday, a wholly owned subsidiary of Superior Industries International has commenced insolvency proceedings in Germany The outcome of this process will decide the fate of the company’s Werdohl aluminium wheel manufacturing facility and Superior will make its decision within a matter of months Speaking during an Investor Update Call on 31 August, company president and chief executive officer, Majdi Abulaban explained that Superior Industries has taken the first step of a two-step process “It’s a legal process and a court administration to execute on a plan to improve performance We have set targets on SG&A and other operating performances and we’re commencing to execute on that plan A key action that Superior Industries is taking is the implementation of a revised operating plan to reduce costs enhance revenues and to better meet critical customer needs “So should that plan not materialise in the results we expect and possible action in the next step would be the closure of this facility and moving the business from Germany into Poland.” Abulaban stressed that the current proceeding with its court-appointed administrator is “not a one-year process,” rather it will be “a few months” of working together with the Werdohl plant’s works council “We have secured a plan and we will go back to the courts and give them an update about the outcome…our planning is such that we expect to have this resolved by the end of the year or very shortly thereafter.” The Werdohl facility operated by Superior Industries Production Germany makes between 800,000 and a million rims annually and Abulaban notes that while these tend to be complex products they are “nothing highly different” to rims manufactured in Poland But energy prices in Germany are amongst the highest in Europe – more than double those in Poland in 2022 – and this along with factors such as decreased vehicle production has caused problems for Superior Industries Production Germany in recent times Abulaban confirmed that measures already taken to improve the business’s performance including the streamlining of manufacturing processes have “not been sufficient to adequately reduce our manufacturing and administrative cost structure.” Abulaban did not greatly elaborate on the process that commenced on 31 August; however he did mention that Superior Industries was now looking to repeat the operational improvements that have benefitted its North American operations in the last few years He also noted that Germany’s government will “support that process” in some form “I don’t want to get into details about how the government participates if it does not create a competitive business The president and chief executive also confirmed that production in Werdohl will continue during the proceedings Superior Industries’ other German operations and aftermarket business are not part of these proceedings Earlier today, Superior Industries Production Germany GmbH (SPG), a wholly owned subsidiary of US-headquartered aluminium wheel supplier Superior Industries International, Inc. that was formed after the 2017 acquisition of Uniwheels AG filed voluntary petitions for preliminary insolvency proceedings Superior Industries calls this step a “strategic action” to “further enhance competitiveness.” Superior Industries stresses that this court-administered reorganisation (or Protective Shield Proceedings) is “strictly limited” to SPG and its manufacturing facility in Werdohl and the company’s other German operations and aftermarket business are not part of these proceedings The petitions filed with the Court in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse seek relief under Germany’s Insolvency Code pursuant to § 270 a section that states that a debtor is “entitled under the supervision of an insolvency monitor to manage and realise the insolvency estate if the insolvency court orders such debtor-in-possession management in the order opening the insolvency proceedings.” In a Form 8-K document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the USA Superior Industries explains that SPG is “seeking authorisation to continue to operate its business as a ‘debtor-in-possession’ under the jurisdiction of the Insolvency Court “We have made substantial progress in aligning our business to a rapidly evolving operating environment while elevating our footprint to a competitively advantaged position,” comments Majdi Abulaban president and chief executive officer of Superior Industries the vast majority of Superior’s capacity is high-performing and is strategically placed in two low-cost locations creating an attractive ‘local for local’ solution for our customers as they seek shorter supply chains to mitigate production risks The action we are taking represents a continuation of our plan and the transformation of the remaining six per cent of our footprint including our ability to capture customer demand for larger will continue to support our business well into the future,” Abulaban adds this so-called strategic action in Germany is a “critical step” in its efforts to “strategically prune underperforming areas” of its global product portfolio The measure is expected to improve the profitability of Superior’s European operations and reduce the approximately 400 bps margin gap that currently stands between value-added sales in Europe and North America Superior has developed a revised operating plan at its SPG facility and to better address critical customer needs.” Superior Industries expects to recognise a non-cash charge of approximately US$82 million in the third quarter of 2023 representing the excess of the carrying value of the net assets over the estimated preliminary fair value of its interest in SPG The company also anticipates incurring cash charges associated with these proceedings of €15 to 18 million and a benefit to adjusted EBITDA which it expects to be fully realised in 2024 on a run rate basis that reflects a payback of approximately one year