Due to its inability to pay its debts, injection moulding machine manufacturer HPM Hemscheidt GmbH (Werkstr. 221, D-19061 Schwerin) filed a petition for bankruptcy at the local courtof Schwerin, Germany (Demmlerplatz 1-2, D-19053 Schwerin) for bankruptcy on August 14, 2000. Having survived for nearly 30 years, the future of the production site is under threat for the second time since 1996.

The foundation stone for the “VEB Plastmaschinenwerk Schwerin” was laid in 1972 within the context of the former East Germany´s planned economy. It was part of a project to build up the “Industrial Complex, South” in a region with a poor industrial infrastructure. At its peak, up to 2,700 people were employed at the plant, which was a very important source of plastics for the Comecon states. Following reunification in 1991, the injection moulding activities, which then employed around 450, were bought by Wuppertal-based Hemscheidt group and reorganised under the name Hemscheidt Maschinentechnik Schwerin GmbH & Co.

During the course of bankruptcy proceedings initiated in 1996, one of two successor companies was taken over by investors of the US-based HPM Corporation (820 Marion Road, Mount Gilead, Ohio, 43338-1095 / USA). Since then, the company has been known as HPM Hemscheidt. The current workforce is 116.