Upper Austrian industrial firm goes bust

Upper Austrian firm Franz Hittmayr GmbH has filed for bankruptcy, it has emerged.The Alpine Creditors’ Association (AKV) said today (Thurs) judges at the provincial court in Wels have started dealing with the Redlham-based industrial company’s situation.The body said Franz Hittmayr GmbH had debts of more than 3.9 million Euros. It added the plan was to keep the firm – which currently employs 53 staff – alive.Company officials named a slump in order volume due to the credit crunch as a key factor for the dismal situation.Franz Hittmayr GmbH is reportedly also entangled in a court feud in Germany where opponents demand 1.4 million Euros.The industrial fittings expert’s bankruptcy comes just days after Oberwart-based construction firm Domweber Baugesellschaft mbH went bust. Provincial court Eisenstadt began dealing with the case last month, while local media reported firm chiefs wanted to get the company back on track.Federal Creditors’ Protection Association (KSV 1870) announced debts of 7.4 million Euros makes the Domweber issue the biggest bankruptcy so far this year in the province of Burgenland.KSV 1870 said recently it expected the number of business bankruptcies in Austria to shrink over the next few months, adding that it feared a rise in private bankruptcies.Debt experts at the federal justice ministry said courts across Austria dealt with 9,089 private bankruptcy cases in 2009, up by 3.9 year on year, adding that the number of business bankruptcies shrank by 5.6 per cent year on year during the first three months of this year.