UpdateTronox unit in Germany relaunches as crenox GmbH

13 May 2010 20:00  [Source: ICIS news]

(updates with financial data and outlook for crenox)

TORONTO (ICIS news)--The insolvency administrator of Tronox's former Germany-based unit has re-launched the business under a new name, crenox GmbH, marking a new start for the firm, a spokesman for the administrator said on Thursday.

The US pigment maker's unit in Germany filed for insolvency in March 2009, shortly after Tronox filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US.

The German unit is expected to be sold to an investor over the mid- to long term, to satisfy creditors, which are primarily comprised of tax authorities, social insurance agencies and suppliers.

A spokesman for insolvency administrator Eberhard Stock said that with the German filing last year, creditors became the owners of the unit in Germany, which was now "practically detached" from Tronox in the US.

The new crenox was profitable and operated at full capacity at its 107,000 tonne/year plant at the Krefeld-Uerdingen chemical site in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia state, he said.

In a year-on-year comparision, the German unit's first-quarter volumes rose by over 80% from the 2009 first quarter.

Order books were full and Crenox expected to operate at full capacity throughout 2010. It expected a double-digit increase sales, compared with about €120m ($152m) in 2009, he said.

The company currently employs a staff of 550, after hiring 40 additional workers.

A crenox company website was expected to be launched later this month, the spokesman added.

($1 = €0.79)

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By: Stefan Baumgarten
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