Market: Mitteldeutsche Fahrradwerke (Mifa) has filed for bankruptcy. A court spokesman confirmed such rumors on Wednesday. Although the East German bicycle manufacturer can look back on a long company history, it has repeatedly struggled with financial bottlenecks in the recent past. A first application for insolvency had already been filed in September 2014.
Difficult times for the Mitteldeutsche Fahrradwerke based in Saxony-Anhalt. After a weak year in 2016, the traditional German manufacturer had to file for bankruptcy for the second time within a short period of time. It is currently not known how things will continue in the long term - also with regard to the around 550 employees, many of them in the recently opened new plant in Sangerhausen, the management is still keeping silent. However, operations will continue unchanged for the time being.
The recent insolvency comes as a surprise, after all things seemed to be going up after the low point at the end of 2014. At that time, the local entrepreneur Heinrich von Nathusius, together with the state of Saxony-Anhalt, saved the former largest bicycle manufacturer in the GDR from final bankruptcy and the new production facility in the Harz Mountains was planned and opened with great confidence.
One can only speculate as to why this plan failed again. What is certain, however, is that another turbulent chapter awaits the Mifa success story.