Troubled German finishing equipment businesses Polar Mohr and Adolf Mohr have been taken over by Austrian SOL Capital, securing the future of the Hofheim site and the jobs of all 300 employees there and in Shanghai.

Due to component supply bottlenecks, the Polar Group had initiated court-supervised protective shield proceedings for restructuring purposes.  SOL Capital Management will support and drive the future direction of the company with a ‘significant’ injection of capital. SOL is taking over 100% of the shares in Polar Mohr and the business operations of Adolf Mohr, which had been family run businesses for over a century.

‘Our position as an industry leader will be boosted by this new start and the additional funds from SOL Capital. Through further automation, solutions that enable our customers to significantly increase productivity and support their competitiveness, we will further expand and consolidate our leadership in innovation,’ said Thomas Raab, managing director of the new Polar Cutting Technologies. ‘I would like to thank all employees, customers, suppliers and our sales and service partner Heidelberg, who supported us during the challenging phase of the protective shield proceedings.’

Haiko Stüting, the managing partner of SOL Capital, added, ‘The aim is to further strengthen and expand the market leadership of the Polar companies worldwide. With the existing resources and new approaches, we have the best prerequisites for developing new technologies and solutions.’

‘The current developments have no impact on the working conditions of our employees. These will be maintained as part of the transfer of operations. With the comprehensive knowledge of our we are also optimally positioned in the area of human resources,’ noted Mr Raab. ‘In addition, our supply and purchasing situation is improving. Our most important suppliers are already sending very positive signals.’

The acquisition by SOL Capital is a combined asset and share deal. The new company now operates as Polar Cutting Technologies GmbH. Both teh German Polar-Mohr and the Chinese subsidiary companies were also acquired. The company’s headquarters will remain in Hofheim am Taunus.

In the run-up to the agreement with SOL Capital, the group sold its approximately 50,000sqm factory site in the centre of Hofheim, paving the way for the construction of a new factory in the Hofheim am Taunus region that meets today’s production requirements.