High Aluminium Price Drives Two Austrian Companies to Bankruptcy

Austrian packaging manufacturer Conseal followed in the footsteps of the aluminium processing company Alufix and entered insolvency this week. The companies cited difficulties in production and the fluctuating price of the raw material behind these developments.

Conseal requested reorganisation procedures at the Graz Civil Enforcement Tribunal and said to be looking for an investor. Company’s outstanding liabilities amount to around €6.62 million. Its bankruptcy would lead to around 30 job losses and affect 80 creditors. Conseal produces aluminium foil packaging and composite materials, supplying the pharmaceutical and food industry.

Only a few weeks earlier, the Austrian aluminium packaging film producer Alufix had gone into administration. Alufix hopes to continue operations if it finds an investor. The insolvency of Alufix affected 170 employees this year and 150 last year, according to Wirtschaftskompass, an online portal providing business information on Austrian companies.

The price of aluminium surged in 2018 due to a combination of US Section 232 import tariffs and sanctions on Russian aluminium giant Rusal, while Norsk Hydro’s Alunorte operations in Brazil were suffering from severe disruptions.