Gußwerke Leipzig/Saarbrücken

Gußwerke Leipzig/Saarbrücken was the final corporate identity of a German iron foundry group whose origins reach back to 1756, when Prince Frederick William of Nassau-Saarbrücken established the Halberger Werck smelting and hammer works at the foot of the Halberg near Brebach, then an independent village and today part of Saarbrücken. From that works grew the Halbergerhütte, which became a long-established foundry in the Saarland. In 1972 the Halbergerhütte became wholly owned by the French Saint-Gobain group, and in 1988 Saint-Gobain carved out its automotive-supplier casting activities — then employing around 2,500 people — into the independent company Halberg-Guss. In 1992 Halberg-Guss was sold to the French Valois group, and in 1993 it took over a Leipzig foundry that had formerly belonged to the East German VEB Metallgusswerk, acquired from the Treuhandanstalt. The group expanded abroad in the following years, including the 2007 acquisition of two iron and two aluminium foundries in South Africa, which were later divested during insolvency. The group filed for insolvency on 1 September 2009. At the start of 2011 Halberg-Guss employed around 2,000 people in Germany — about 1,300 at the Saarbrücken-Brebach headquarters and 700 at the Leipzig plant — with revenue of roughly €300 million in 2010. In May 2011 the Dutch private-equity firm HTP Investments acquired Halberg-Guss, which continued as Neue Halberg-Guss GmbH (NHG), accompanied by financial concessions from employees. After a brief interlude under Süddeutsche Beteiligungs GmbH, the company was sold in January 2018 to the Prevent group of the Bosnian Hastor entrepreneurial family. On 29 November 2018 the NHG foundries in Saarbrücken and Leipzig were sold to a consortium around One Square Advisors; the remaining shell was renamed ANHK GmbH in January 2019, while the operating businesses were renamed Gußwerke Saarbrücken GmbH and, for the Leipzig branch, Gußwerke Leipzig GmbH. According to its own account, the Gußwerke were the European market leader in the development and production of cast crankshafts as well as cylinder crankcases and cylinder heads, although in the cylinder-crankcase segment it faced two other manufacturers of comparable importance, Fritz Winter Eisengießerei GmbH & Co. KG of Stadtallendorf and Eisenwerk Brühl GmbH of Brühl (Rhineland). In July 2019 Gußwerke Saarbrücken GmbH announced the elimination of 200 of 1,200 jobs because of a lack of orders. After August 2019 wages and severance payments could not be paid, and on 20 September 2019 the company filed for insolvency under self-administration. On 3 June 2020 the definitive closure of the Saarbrücken plant was announced for the end of that month, and the Gußwerke Leipzig also definitively ceased production at the end of September 2020. The foundry site in Leipzig is being redeveloped by the Hagedorn group of Gütersloh into an industrial park. The former domain of Halberg Guss is now used privately to preserve memories of the company and to document its dismantling.

The history of the Gußwerke Leipzig/Saarbrücken reaches back to 1756, when Prince Frederick William of Nassau-Saarbrücken established the Halberger Werck smelting and hammer works at the foot of the Halberg near Brebach, then still an independent village. From this works emerged the Halbergerhütte, a foundry that became a fixture of the Saarland industrial landscape. In 1972 the Halbergerhütte became a wholly owned subsidiary of the French Saint-Gobain group. In 1988 Saint-Gobain spun off its automotive-supplier casting activities — then employing around 2,500 people — into the independent company Halberg-Guss. In 1992 Halberg-Guss was sold to the French Valois group. In 1993 it took over a Leipzig foundry that had formerly belonged to the East German VEB Metallgusswerk, acquired from the Treuhandanstalt. In the following years Halberg-Guss expanded through acquisitions abroad, including in 2007 the purchase of two iron and two aluminium foundries in South Africa, which were later sold during insolvency. On 1 September 2009 the Halberg-Guss group filed for insolvency. At the beginning of 2011 Halberg-Guss employed around 2,000 people in Germany — about 1,300 at the headquarters in Saarbrücken-Brebach and 700 at the Leipzig plant — and generated revenue of roughly €300 million in 2010. In May 2011 the Dutch private-equity firm HTP Investments acquired Halberg-Guss, which continued under the name Neue Halberg-Guss GmbH (NHG), with associated financial concessions from the workforce. After a brief interlude under Süddeutsche Beteiligungs GmbH, the company was sold in January 2018 to the Prevent group of the Bosnian Hastor entrepreneurial family. On 29 November 2018 the NHG foundries in Saarbrücken and Leipzig were sold to a consortium around One Square Advisors. The remaining shell company was renamed ANHK GmbH at the shareholders' meeting of 17 January 2019. In the meantime the operating business was renamed Gußwerke Saarbrücken GmbH, and the Leipzig branch Gußwerke Leipzig GmbH. In July 2019 Gußwerke Saarbrücken GmbH announced the elimination of 200 of 1,200 jobs because of a lack of orders. After August 2019 wages and due severance payments to departed employees could not be paid by mid-September 2019, the company filed for insolvency under self-administration on 20 September 2019. On 3 June 2020 the definitive closure of the plant was announced for the end of that month. The Gußwerke Leipzig also definitively ceased production at the end of September 2020. The foundry site in Leipzig is being developed by the Hagedorn group of Gütersloh into an industrial park. The former domain of Halberg Guss is now operated privately to preserve memories of the former company and to publish insights into its dismantling.

• 2020

  On 3 June the definitive closure of the Saarbrücken plant is announced for the end of the month; the Gußwerke Leipzig cease production at the end of September.

• 2019

  The remaining shell is renamed ANHK GmbH on 17 January; the operating businesses become Gußwerke Saarbrücken GmbH and Gußwerke Leipzig GmbH. In July Gußwerke Saarbrücken announces 200 job cuts; on 20 September it files for insolvency under self-administration.

• 2018

  In January the company is sold to the Prevent group of the Bosnian Hastor family; on 29 November the NHG foundries in Saarbrücken and Leipzig are sold to a consortium around One Square Advisors.

• 2011

  In May the Dutch private-equity firm HTP Investments acquires Halberg-Guss, which continues as Neue Halberg-Guss GmbH (NHG).

• 2009

  On 1 September the Halberg-Guss group files for insolvency.

• 2007

  Halberg-Guss acquires two iron and two aluminium foundries in South Africa, later divested during insolvency.

• 1993

  Halberg-Guss takes over a Leipzig foundry formerly belonging to VEB Metallgusswerk, acquired from the Treuhandanstalt.

• 1992

  Halberg-Guss is sold to the French Valois group.

• 1988

  Saint-Gobain spins off its automotive-supplier casting activities, then employing around 2,500 people, into the independent company Halberg-Guss.

• 1972

  The Halbergerhütte becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of the French Saint-Gobain group.

• 1756

  Prince Frederick William of Nassau-Saarbrücken establishes the Halberger Werck smelting and hammer works near Brebach, the origin of the later Halbergerhütte.

European market leader in cast crankshafts and a major supplier of cylinder crankcases and cylinder heads for the automotive industry.

• Cast crankshafts

  The company described itself as European market leader in the development and production of cast crankshafts.

• Cylinder crankcases

  A core product segment in which the company faced two other manufacturers of comparable importance in Europe.

• Cylinder heads

  Cast cylinder heads for the automotive industry.

1. 1Halberg Guss |halberg-guss.de
2. 2Gußwerke Leipzig/Saarbrücken – Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Gußwerke Saarbrücken / Gußwerke Leipzig – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org