Oltchim, on quicksand

Things were looking up for Oltchim, after the receivers of the plant of Vâlcea and the Ministry of the Economy convinced Piraeus Bank and Banca Transilvania to grant them the much sought after financing for increasing output. With Piraeus Bank, the negotiations actually ended up in the final stage of checking the collaterals offered for the line of credit of 6 million Euros, as representatives of the bank are planning to make a visit to Râmnicu Vâlcea by the end of the month.

But on Friday morning, , the receiver of Oltchim, Bogdan Stănescu, and the interim general manager, Mihail Tălpăşanu, announced on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE), that 715 employees will enter technical unemployment amid the temporary contraction of the company's activity, due to the lack of raw materials, working capital and the fact that some of the plant's installations are operating at low capacity. And so, dark clouds gathered over Oltchim again.

On Friday afternoon, the receivers (Rominsolv and BDO) sent a press release to the BSE, which was intended to clarify the one signed by Bogdan Stănescu. In fact, the latter press release completely contradicts the first. The receivers state that in August, Oltchim will not only be closed down, but it will actually increase its output to 23.07% and it will cut its losses from its day-to-day operations to 800,000 Euros.

The receivers claim that they are still negotiating in order to secure financing, just like they are constantly negotiating with their commercial partners in order to obtain better commercial terms.

Several rumors are making the rounds through the plant concerning this shell game with the financing. Some are saying that the receiver Bogdan Stănescu actually changed his stance, after spending some time with Constantin Roibu (the former manager of Oltchim), and others say that he hasn't actually understood anything from the plan to send 715 employees into technical unemployment.

Some people are worried that just as the plant seemed to be doing better, it is now being obstructed, in order to prevent it from securing financing which would allow its sale for a pittance, just as the Russians and the Chinese are about to visit it.

On top of all these stories, the receivers and the Ministry of the Economy have remained firm, reassuring the suppliers and the lenders of the plant that the liquidation of the plant is out of the question and that the technical unemployment is natural for the divisions which have been inactive for more than a year (monomers, PVC, Mercury-based electrolysis and oxo-alcohols). The resignation of Bogdan Stănescu is expected at the Ministry and investors and commercial partners have calmed down a little, according to sources close to the situation.

The 715 employees of Oltchim will be put into technical unemployment in shifts, with an average of five days each. Converted into the number of employees that will stay on technical unemployment for the entire duration (July 29 - September 8, 2013), this will mean 291 employees out of a total of 2,101 on the Râmnicu Vâlcea platform. The employees of the Bradu petrochemical division will move to a 4-day workweek, as technical unemployment is necessary because the division hasn't been operational for even one day since 2010.