The company Hygiene Austria LP GmbH, which specializes in the production of FFP2 masks, is insolvent.
According to the Austrian creditor protection association KSV1870, the responsible regional court in Wiener Neustadt opened restructuring proceedings without self-administration for the wholly owned subsidiary of the lingerie provider Palmers Textil AG on Friday.
The company recently made high losses because demand for FFP2 masks collapsed after the Corona protective measures expired last year, it said. In addition, “various pending court cases” contributed to the insolvency. The KSV1870 estimated the liabilities at the time of the application to be a total of 5.2 million euros. The plan is to “continue the company on a reduced scale,” explained the association.
Hygiene Austria was founded after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe in spring 2020 as a joint venture between Palmers and the fiber producer Lenzing AG to cover the acute need for protective masks.
The company came under repeated criticism in the following years. In media reports she was accused of not only producing masks in Austria, but also selling Chinese products. The company was also accused of tax crimes. In the wake of the controversy, the Lenzing Group had already completely transferred its shares in Hygiene Austria to Palmers in spring 2021.