Investor interested in Sklo Bohemia would renew some production

A private company is interested in buying glass maker Sklo Bohemia and, according to the plan it has presented to the municipal council, it intends to renew mechanical glass production at the company, the town´s deputy mayor Josef Boehm told CTK Tuesday.

Three hundred people would find jobs at the company already in the second quarter of next year, he said without disclosing the investor´s name.

The debt-ridden glassworks, which used to have over 1,200 employees, were declared bankrupt on Friday.

Boehm said that a local entrepreneur, whose activities included glass production, was interested in buying the whole steelworks.

This is the first investor interested in the glassworks. He used to work at Sklo Bohemia and later was a co-owner of one smaller glass factory near Svetla nad Sazavou, Boehm said.

CTK has found out that the investor is Jiri Hudera. "I represent a group of investors with a serious interest in the company and in the launch of glass production," he said. No more details about the investors will be disclosed at the moment, he added. Talks with creditor banks are allegedly being prepared, and more information will be available in the course of the talks, said Hudera.

The investor reportedly told the town councillors that other companies were behind him, including a foreign glass producer. He at the same time said he did not intend to return to traditional hand-cut crystal which was part of the glassworks´ production line.

The investor was trying to gain the town hall´s support because at Friday´s meeting of Sklo Bohemia creditors, creditors decided that the assets would be sold in parts.

"We like more the idea to sell the glassworks in one piece," Boehm noted.

Production at the company ended in September. Its receiver is Helena Horova who said on Friday that no investor interested in buying the whole glassworks or renewing glass production has appeared.

She said on Tuesday that on Nov 27 she got a written report in which Hudera informed her about preparations for setting up a joint-stock company that wants to buy the glass maker. The report, however, says nothing about the investor itself and its means, said Horova. It is up to creditors to make a decision on the sale of the assets, she added.

Sklo Bohemia is part of debt-ridden glass group Bohemia Crystalex Trading (BCT). The company has been in insolvency since October 14. Its assets, according to the insolvency proposal, are worth Kc1.374bn.

According to the insolvency register, 224 creditors have filed their claims worth over Kc6bn. The total volume of claims will fall significantly after reviewing to be completed by December 18.

Sklo Bohemia had over 1,200 employees still in September. Wages were last paid for August. People who did not leave by themselves were served notices at end-November.

Only some two dozen people have stayed to take care of the company´s property.