The corona crisis and the energy crisis after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine mainly caused a lot of misery, but the stove industry actually ‘benefited’ from this. “People invested a lot in stoves during that period,” says curator Jilles Knotter about the bankrupt stove company ‘t Stokertje from Orvelte.
According to Knotter, the bankruptcy is due to a decline in turnover. “The corona period was very good for the company. And wood burning also became popular during the energy crisis.”
But in the following years, the demand for stoves increasingly decreased, as a result of which the company was no longer able to meet its obligations.
‘t Stokertje, which was taken over from founder Marc Hoogland in 2023, employs 33 people. According to the curator, it is not yet entirely certain whether those people will finally end up on the street, because there is hope for a restart.
“The company certainly has potential. I have already been approached by interested parties, so we will try to find a solution in the near future.” Knotter hopes to know within two weeks whether a restart for ‘t Stokertje is possible.
Former owner Hoogland informed RTV Drenthe earlier today that his concerns were increasing about the future of ‘t Stokertje. He would gradually transfer the company, but according to him, he was not given the space to do so.
“The contacts that followed increasingly focused on deferred interest and repayment obligations and disappointing results.” Hoogland still owns the buildings that ‘t Stokertje used.
