Soex Group – one of only five European textile waste collectors, sorters and recyclers currently equipped to handle annual volumes of over 80,000 tons annually – has filed an application to open insolvency proceedings under self-administration with the district court in Reinbek, Germany.

The company is seeking a new investor and restructuring expert Oliver Dankert has taken over management of the company as chief insolvency officer and is setting up a merger and acquisition purchasing process.

Business operations are to continue without restrictions and wages and salaries have been secured up to and including November 2024.

Soex put the reasons for the insolvency filing down to traditional markets in Eastern Europe having collapsed and competitors from Asia simultaneously putting pressure on the market with their excess capacity. This had led to significant short term losses in earnings and liquidity for the company, which in previous years achieved annual sales of around €460 million.

“We are well prepared for upcoming legal developments, including the planned extended producer responsibility for textile waste in the EU and the introduction of separate textile waste collections in 2025,” said managing director Fred Ponath. “These changes offer Soex an opportunity for further growth in the area of ​​sustainable textile recycling.”

A preliminary administrator has been appointed for the German companies Soex Textil-Verwertungsgesellschaft, based in Ahrensburg with around 130 employees, Soex Processing Germany GmbH, based in Bitterfeld-Wolfen with around 300 employees, Soex Recycling Germany GmbH, also based in Bitterfeld-Wolfen with nine employees, and I:Collect based in Ahrensburg with 17 employees. Soex Processing Middle East is not affected by the self-administration procedure and no insolvency application has been filed for it.

www.soex.de