PRESS RELEASE
Dental materials supplier Pluradent applies for insolvency in debtor-in-possession administration
Foreign subsidiaries such as Meditrans in Poland are not affected / Good chances of restructuring until summer
OFFENBACH, 25 FEBRUARY 2020: The largest family-owned German dental materials supplier with about 800 employees is to be restructured under its own management by the summer. Today Pluradent AG & Co. KG filed for insolvency with the Offenbach Local Court to avert imminent insolvency. The business will be continued with all of the approximately 800 employees, more than 150 of them at Offenbach headquarters, and will be supervised by a court-appointed trustee. GLS Logistik GmbH Co. Dental Handel KG in Kassel, a member of the Pluradent Group with 100 employees, will also continue operations under its own management. Pluradent’s foreign subsidiaries, such as Meditrans in Poland, are not affected by the debtor-in-possession administration. Their operations continue without change.
“Since Pluradent applied for self-administration at an early stage, there are good chances of restructuring. The company is not insolvent but is threatened with insolvency. For years, high liabilities have been a burden on the business because margins in the retail sector have declined due to digitalization and new online providers. Old business models in the dental trade are no longer sustainable and an initial out of court restructuring has not yet brought about a sustainable turnaround. By the summer we intend to present an insolvency plan to free Pluradent from old liabilities and make it competitive again. The salaries of the 800 employees will be covered by the employment agency until April”, explained Dr. Gordon Geiser of GT Restructuring, who today joined Herbert Liebl and Karsten Hemmer on the board of Pluradent AG & Co. KG. Dr. Geiser has already successfully restructured numerous companies.
The Offenbach-based company was formed in 2001 through the merger of several regional dental dealers. It forms the core of the Pluradent Group with over 1,000 employees and a turnover of over 300 million euros in Europe.
In addition to supplying dental products from swabs to complete treatment units, Pluradent has expanded its consulting services for new dental practices and practice development as well as its technical service. However, falling prices in the dental trade and a slow response to digitalisation have brought on a crisis. The application for self-administration was triggered the expiration of credit lines. In addition, two regional sales managers with a total of 70 employees had given notice in January.
“We firmly believe that we can achieve a quick turnaround and restructuring in an debtor-in-possession administration. If Pluradent is relieved from financial burdens of the past, this will be attainable. For the preparation of a detailed plan we will hold talks with all parties involved in the following days and weeks. After all, everyone should have an interest in a reorganisation as well as in the continuation of the company, which is one of the leading dental dealers in Germany. In the interest of our committed employees, we want to resolve the financial problems quickly and be fit again in the summer,” says CRO Dr. Gordon Geiser.
The local court in Offenbach Appointed attorney Julia Kappel-Gnirs of law firm hww as preliminary trustee who will supervise the proceedings. At GLS Logistik GmbH Co. Dental Handel KG, the local court of Kassel appointed lawyer Jutta Rüdlin of law firm BRRS as preliminary trustee. Christian Köhler-Ma of GT Restructuring was appointed CRO of GLS alongside Michael Herdt.
Further information:
Dr. Gordon Geiser, Member of the Board of Directors of Pluradent AG & Co. KG, Kaiserleistraße 3, 63067 Offenbach, Tel. 069-82983-0, www.pluradent.de
Dr. Jochen Mignat, Dr. Mignat PR, Am Hexenpfad 11, 63450 Hanau, Tel. 06181-50791-22, j.mignat@mignat.de
