Following the announcement by French manufacturer Novares (see Plasteurope.com of 14.05.2020), automotive supplier Techniplas (Nashotah, Wisconsin / USA; www.techniplasgroup.com) has filed for creditor protection in accordance with Chapter 11 of US bankruptcy law. The plastics processor’s latest sales amounted to around USD 500m (EUR 460m), and it has been operating several plants and development centres in Europe since it acquired Weidmann’s (Rapperswil / Switzerland; www.weidmann-group.com) Automotive & Industrial segment in 2014 (see Plasteurope.com of 19.05.2014). According to the bankruptcy petition filed with the Delaware commercial court on 6 May 2020, Techniplas’ activities outside the US are not affected by the measure.

The plan includes self-administered debt clearing and the injection of USD 50m of fresh capital by the main shareholders and creditors. Techniplas hopes to finalise the measures by early summer.

The US company received a strategic investment from investment firm Agility Global in October 2019, the scope of which was not disclosed. The new CEO Ali El-Haj joined the company at that time. According to media reports, Techniplas was in the red in 2019 with a net loss of USD 21m.

The most recent information shows that the injection moulding group employs about 2,000 people in 12 plants worldwide. These were acquired from Dickten Masch Plastics, Nyloncraft, Weidmann and Swiss company Vallotech. Six plants are located in the US, with others in Brazil, South Africa and China (2). The European presence, which mainly consists of the Weidmann activities that now operate as Weidplas, is spread over production sites in Treuen / Germany, Tajonar / Spain, Rüti / Switzerland and Vallorbe / Switzerland. There are also several technical centres, three of them in Germany, as well as in Switzerland and France.

Techniplas’ product portfolio includes parts for media ducts, decorative interior elements and structural components. There are also products outside the automotive segment, for example for electrical systems and water filtration.

Formerly known as Wicor, the Weidmann group generated sales of CHF 351m (EUR 332m) in 2019. It employs 2,700 people in 30 plants. With its subsidiary Weidmann Medical Technology, the Swiss company continues to operate plastics injection moulding, including assembly and packaging. The company is considered a systems supplier for the medical technology and pharmaceutical industries and operates two cleanroom plants in Switzerland and Mexico with a total of 55 injection moulding machines.

These are currently supplying pharmaceutical giant Roche with tests in connection with the coronavirus. According to Swiss media, this is one of the reasons why the cleanroom capacities of the plants in Bad Ragaz / Switzerland and Mexico were expanded. The group portfolio is rounded off by the two areas of electrical engineering and cellulose fibres.