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Traditional Saxon company Nickel-Fenster in Weißwasser has run out of money

The boss and deputy have fallen out. Production is at a standstill. Some employees are waiting for money. Now Nickel-Fenster is insolvent.

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Man sieht das Gebäude der Nickel Fenster GmbH & Co. KG in Weißwasser
The idyll at the headquarters of Nickel Fenster GmbH & Co. KG in Weißwasser is deceptive: a management dispute has paralyzed the company, which has been in provisional insolvency since the end of June. SZ Archive/Rolf Ullmann

From Ulrich Wolf

Weißwasser. The long-established company Nickel Fenster GmbH & Co. KG, based in Weißwasser, has filed for insolvency. This was confirmed on Friday by deputy managing director Dirk Fechner at the request of Sächsische.de.

According to him, this happened at the end of June. The wages of the 62 employees in the internationally active company were secured for June, July and August by the insolvency compensation. However, some had already not received any money in May. Production is largely at a standstill and liquidity had already run out last December. "I am optimistic that we will find an investor so that we can get going again," said Fechner.

For the time being, however, insolvency law expert Annett Kittner-Treublein from the Dresden commercial law firm DMP Solutions GmbH is in charge of the company as provisional administrator. She could not be reached for comment on Friday.

Deputy CEO Fechner blames owner and managing director Armin Knab for the misery. "The blame lies solely with his mismanagement," said Fechner. If the health insurance companies had not deferred their contributions, the company would have had to file for insolvency sooner. However, Fechner admitted that he had not spoken to Knab for some time.

Stuttgart-based Armin Knab has been managing the business since 2018

The sole shareholder and managing director lives in the Stuttgart area. Knab, now 63, bought Nickel-Fenster in 2018 without any experience in the construction industry and then continued to run the company. According to his own statements, he had previously worked as a management consultant, as managing director of a postal company and as division manager at the Stuttgart newspaper group.

Nickel-Fenster had already slipped into insolvency in 2005, but was able to regain a foothold with the help of the then Saxon Minister of Economic Affairs Thomas Jurk (SPD) and continue as a new company. The company's references include windows for the Italian Village and the Taschenbergpalais in Dresden, the Hotel Adlon in Berlin, the Reichshof in Leipzig and Brandis Castle. According to the company, villa owners in Hawaii and California are also among its customers.

The origins of the company date back to 1899. Nickel-Fenster has been recognized as an exemplary training company since 2013. According to the company, it has branches in Dresden and Leipzig.

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