“It doesn’t look bad,” says Karl-Heinz König, chairman of the works council at Rohrwerk Maxhütte. The traditional steel company in Sulzbach-Rosenberg is said to be on the verge of collapse, once again. “If the owners don’t find a bank that will give us a loan by the weekend, we will have to file for bankruptcy next week.” The Rohrwerk lacks start-up financing in the double-digit million range.
Things were initially looking good for the pipe mill when it was bought at the last minute by the British company Mertex almost exactly a year ago. At that time, König was able to announce the rescue of the company in front of the assembled team. “We had tears in our eyes. But everyone was happy.” Now the worries about 350 jobs are starting all over again. That’s already 100 fewer than a year ago. Some have retired, according to König, but most have resigned. Because soon after the happy news of the rescue, disillusionment spread.
“In September 2022, Bayern LB rejected a loan for the pipe factory,” says König. “On the grounds that you can no longer invest in such energy-intensive companies as ours.” After that, door-to-door calls to other banks began. That was sobering, says König. And he was immensely disappointed, above all, by “the three gentlemen.” König means Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU), Finance Minister Albert Füracker (CSU) and above all Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger (free voters).
A year ago he personally looked around the pipe works and had the concept of a “green pipe work” developed by the in-house technicians explained to him. In the future, the company should be operated entirely with electricity from a solar field nearby. Of course, this requires investment first. “The new owner has already invested millions in the pipe works,” says König. But that’s not enough.
The state government also promised money. “But that was probably just a showcase event,” says König. He means Aiwanger’s visit back then. He will “vehemently and actively support the further development of the plant”, said the economy minister after the announcement of continued operation a year ago. From the point of view of the works council, this support did not take place. Aiwanger sees it differently. For months he had been trying hard to find a solution for the pipe works, he told Bayerischer Rundfunk. And the fact that Bayern LB is responsible for making credit transactions cannot be ordered by politicians.
You’ve endured many a nail-biter in the Maxhütte. She had to file for bankruptcy in the 1980s and 1990s, but was always able to pull herself together. In 2002, the steel works finally came to an end. 850 workers lost their jobs. The Rohrwerk is the last remaining part of the Maxhütte, once the largest steelworks in southern Germany. The company is stubbornly fighting its decline, also because employees and many people in the city have felt emotionally connected to it for generations. Udo Fechtner, head of the IG Metall office in Amberg, does not want to give up just yet because of this past. “Hope dies last.”
If you speak to Rohrwerk Managing Director Michael Stötzel, you hear neither König’s despair nor Fechtner’s hope, but rather astonishment and even annoyance: “You should only speak out if it makes sense and not during ongoing negotiations. That’s good for Rohrwerk no use.” It is also very likely that the owner, Mertex, will continue to run the pipe works on his own. How exactly, there are currently discussions. In any case: “Production in the pipe works will continue as normal next week.” Normal – but that also means short-time work since September.
At its peak, 5,000 people worked in the Maxhütte. The remaining 350 are attached to their jobs – not only with their hearts. “Half of them are over 50 years old,” says trade unionist Fechtner. “They have very special qualifications. There are no comparable jobs in Bavaria like the ones at the pipe works.” For the employees, the next few weeks will decide the question: Will work start again in your pipe works in Sulzbach-Rosenberg or will the last piece of mining history disappear from the city?