Europe's third-largest trailer manufacturer Kögel has been bought out of administration by mid-sized German car and truck trailer specialist Humbaur Group for a €3.6m (£3.24m) transitional fee.
According to administrator Arndt Geiwitz, entrepreneur Ulrich Humbaur has acquired the trademark rights and production facilities of Kögel.
Trading under the name of Kögel Trailer GmbH &
Co. KG, it will continue to provide the complete current product range.
The company filed for administration back in August, citing a "demand breakdown" of 90%.
After entering administration, it emerged that Kögel expects to sell between 1,500 and 2,000 units this year, resulting in €50m (£42.5m) in revenue.
The company sold approximately 24,000 units, earning €540m (£459m) between July 2007 and June 2008.
Humbaur says the acquisition is "a logical step to take in setting the course for further growth". He believes that the company can achieve considerable economic efficiencies when it comes to the purchase of materials in the future by "leveraging considerable synergies".
He continues: "The Kögel brand allows us to break into the trailer sector much faster, and to successfully serve this market, which is bound to grow again in the future."
Humbaur
adds that he does not expect a full recovery in the trailer sector until 2011.
The new company will take on 442 of the current 763 workforce.
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