Spain's chemical industry group Sniace close to bankruptcy; looking to restructure debt in preconcurso proceedings.
Spanish specialty cellulose and viscose manufacturer Grupo Sniace is on the verge of bankruptcy and has filed for the opening of pre-bankruptcy (preconcurso) proceedings with the Commercial Court of Madrid on 26 June. Sniace has now four months time to reach agreement with its creditors and restructure its debt in order to avoid bankruptcy. According to the group, both the holding company Sniace S.A. as well as its subsidiaries Celltech and Viscocel are affected.
Sniace was looking for different ways and means to secure its future. In January this year, the company registered for short-time working and had made 330 employees temporary redundant, halting viscose production and cutting specialty pulp output by 30%. Last week, Sniace communicated its intention to axe 364 out of 500 jobs due to economic, production and organisation related matters.
The company blamed its decision on the new law on renewable energies which had reduced green energy promotion in Spain and imposed a new tax on energy production as of 1 January. According to Sniace, the reforms of the Spanish energy sector would have resulted in additional costs of more than €9m this year.
Grupo Sniace is a chemical industrial group active in specialty cellulose, viscose, renewable energies and biofuels. Among other things, the company can produce 66,000 tpy of specialty cellulose, 26,000 tpy of viscose and 126,000 tpy of lignin sulphate.
