With unprecedented financial problems, Dan Vasile, the businessman who owns Dan Steel, is struggling to get back on the waterline. In March, however, the court rejected its reorganization plan so that the company’s steps to bankruptcy are faster and faster. However, Dan Vasile is not willing to give up and challenge the measures of his judicial liquidator and even demands his amendment.
In the file concerning the bankruptcy of the producer Dan Steel Beclean, Dan Vasile, the Maramures businessman who laid the foundations of the factory, challenges the measures of his judicial liquidator and asks the court to even fine him. The businessman’s requirement will be judged in early September.
The consortium formed by the Transilvania SPRL and Prime Insolv Practice SPRL as the provisional judicial administrator, since the registration of the insolvency case, has been dealing with the bankruptcy company. The fee established for services reaches 5,000 lei.
In the spring of this year, the court rejected the company’s special administrator’s reorganization plan, pushing the company bankrupt.
„Rejects the request for postponement made by the debtors. It confirms the reorganization plan proposed by the special administrator of the debtor Dan Steel Group Beclean SA. (…) Will the opening of the general bankruptcy procedure against the debtor Dan Steel Group Beclean, designates the provisional judicial liquidator the consortium formed by the Transylvania SPRL Insolvency House and Prime Insolv Practice SPRL. It orders the dissolution of the debtor company and the lifting of the right to manage it. It sets a maximum deadline for the management to the judicial liquidator, together with the list of related documents and operations, after the opening of the procedure, on 21.03.2022. It orders the handing over to the liquidator the list containing the names and addresses of the creditors, of their claims on the date of bankruptcy, indicating those born after the opening of the procedure „, it is shown in the decision of the Bistrița-Năsăud Tribunal, since March.
Dan Steel the special administrator of his own company
Dan Steel’s insolvency process, which in the meantime turned into bankruptcy, began two years ago. The file was opened in the first month of 2020, at the request of Unicredit and OTP Bank, as well as leasing subsidiaries. The insolvency claim was officially made by Unicredit Leasing Corporation IFN SA.
Even in the year in which the file was registered, the company’s shareholders developed a reorganization plan and appointed Dan Vasile as special administrator of their own company. Two years later, in March, his proposed reorganization plan was rejected by the court.
At the same time, the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders Dan Steel Grup established the remuneration of the special administrator: ‘With a percentage of 83,7654 % of the company’s share capital, it is established that the special administrator will not receive special remuneration from the shareholders, but will continue to be remunerated as general manager of Dan Steel Grup Beclean SA, with the amount of 30,000 lei / month ”.
The Covid pandemic deepened the company’s losses
Financial problems started for Dan Steel from 2018-2019. For that year, the company reported a turnover of 117.4 million lei and losses of over 30 million lei. Debts reached 161 million lei. The number of employees decreased by over 50. For 2018, Dan Steel Grup Beclean registered a turnover of 138.6 million lei, losses of over 17 million lei and debts of 167.2 million lei.
The covid pandemic did nothing but complicate matters for the Beclean producer. In the first year of the pandemic, 2020, Dan Steel Group Beclean reported losses of 8 million lei. This is after the producer had to send all workers in technical unemployment for two months.
Not only technical unemployment and the actual cessation of activity brought huge debts, but also prices for some materials used by Dan Steel and utilities that grew exponentially. In a report last year, Dan Steel presented the disastrous situation caused by the pandemic.
‘Although we had orders and production capacity, we found ourselves unable to secure the raw material that was purchased from imports, largely delivered by Pitti Italia, Sidenor Greece as well as a large part of the technological materials, cord, acid, lubricants that came from Italy or other restricted areas due to the pandemic. As regards the staff coming mostly from the related localities at different distances from the unit, it could no longer continue its activity, as there were no means of public transport. Thus we had to send all employees of the company (except security, neutralizing, SRA) staff in technical unemployment. This was followed by the non-delivery of orders to customers in these two months, which caused serious problems in ensuring that they are available for overdue payments „, according to a 2021 report of the company.
According to the same report, in the two months of inactivity there were losses of over 3.3 million lei, caused by fixed expenses, payment of strictly necessary staff, etc.
And stopping and restarting hot streams would have generated high costs, lead and zinc in the galvanizing baths solidified and replacement was needed. It would have taken two weeks and additional energy and gas costs to bring the galvanizing baths to optimum temperature. Only the restart of the activity generated losses that were close to 2.5 million lei.
The Romanian state has to recover 12 million lei from Dan Steel
The debts recorded by the wire producer are already historical. They reach 170 million lei. More than 50 companies and even public institutions signed up for the table.
Among those who have to recover their money from Dan Steel are OMW Petrom, Unicredit Bank SA, Aquabis, OTP Bank Romania, Garanti Bank, E.On Gaz or Beclean City Hall.
The producer has only 12 million lei to give to the Romanian state, in the form of tax bonds, according to the latest data offered by the website of the National Agency for Fiscal Administration.
The largest amount of over 9 million lei is overdue in previous years. Only the penalty for the outstanding amounts of the past years exceeds 800,000 lei. Last year alone, Dan Steel Grup collected debts to the state social insurance budget over 1.8 million lei. The company also has debts to the health insurance budget, amounting to over 700,000 lei.
