Shock in the Gailtal valley

Bankruptcy with e-charging stations: 97 jobs on the line

Charging infrastructure has been developed and produced in Kötschach-Mauthen and Oberlienz since 2018 - now the end is looming.

(Bild: P. Huber)

Although electromobility is considered to be the industry of the future, it's also in trouble in this sector - on Monday afternoon, a Carinthian company for e-charging stations had to file for bankruptcy. The over-indebtedness amounts to almost 15 million euros; 97 employees in Gailtal are now fearing for their jobs.

A few months ago, Carinthia's largest producer of photovoltaic elements, Energetica, was "hit", and now a manufacturer of electromobility infrastructure is also facing the end: with liabilities of more than 15 million euros, EnerCharge GmbH in Kötschach-Mauthen had to go to the bankruptcy court in Klagenfurt on Monday afternoon. Charging stations for electric cars have been developed and manufactured at the sites in Kötschach and Oberlienz since 2018.

 According to the Alpine Creditors' Association, 97 employees and 125 creditors are affected. Especially in the economically disadvantaged Gailtal valley, the impending end of the company is a heavy blow - a large production company has already gone bankrupt; in addition, the long closure of the Plöcken Pass following a rockfall is causing massive problems in the region.

The reasons for the insolvency are still unclear. "The company tripled its turnover from 2022 to 2023. At the same time, customer commitments were announced for 2024 and staff were hired for this purpose. At the beginning of 2024, it became apparent that the promised orders could not be secured quickly enough to cover the cost structure in the long term," the Kreditschutzverband von 1870 reported.

Restructuring planned, but failed
What are the next steps for EnerCharge? The plan is to sell the business as a "complete package" in order to achieve a higher rate and save what can be saved. However, things are not looking good; according to credit protection agencies, liquidity is only just under one million euros - which is why an out-of-court restructuring has already failed due to a lack of funds. Klaus Haslinglehner, a lawyer from Klagenfurt, was appointed as the liquidator.