The Austrian Zeilberger Fruitservice GmbH from Wels will soon close its doors forever. The wholesaler founded in 1934 had to file its petition in bankruptcy because of a burden of debt of approximately 2.5 million euro, after which the financial settlement was immediately deployed without self-determination. According to local media, 48 jobs are at risk, and about 220 creditors have been duped.
Financial settlement
The most important reason for the immediate bankruptcy according to management is the ‘increasing concentration within the fresh produce trade and the resulting economic pressure.’ It’s unclear as yet what will happen to the packing station and banana ripening plant in the long term, as well as the branch at the wholesaler’s market in Vienna.
The financial reconstruction scheme now being set in motion will for now be financed by income from the import trade that’s still active, the banana ripening and several other services. As it looks now, the fleet of cars, the central DC in Wels, the logistics and the catering shipments, among other things, will be shut down within the near future.
Rich history
Zeilberger GmbH has a long history and was founded in 1934 when the fruit farm was turned into a regional fresh produce wholesaler’s. After the official founding of the new import-export company branch and launch of the mechanised packing installation – an important innovation for that time – the trade was expanded little by little under the motto ‘We deliver it fresh.’
Because of extensive investments from 1990, the company managed to double its capacity regarding cooling and ripening. Besides, in 1998 the then outdated branch at the wholesaler’s market in Vienna was renovated to the most modern technical standards. In recent years, however, the company was faced with concentration and scaling-up within the fresh produce trade, inevitably resulting in lower profit margins and the recently announced bankruptcy.
For more information:
Zeilberger Fruitservice GmbH
Zentrale Wels
Gaswerkstrasse 22
4600 Wels, Austria
Tel: +43 72 42 236 0
Fax: +43 72 42 236 60
E-mail: office@zeilberger.com
Web: www.zeilberger.com