Glasmanufaktur Brandenburg GmbH (GMB), based in Tschernitz, announced yesterday (July 7) that it has filed for insolvency. According to GMB, it is the only manufacturer of tempered solar glass in Europe.
Due to the great international price pressure on solar glass and economic difficulties, GMB had already been on short-time working for some time. This was announced by the Brandenburg Ministry of Economic Affairs.
»I very much regret GMB’s decision,« said Brandenburg’s Minister of Economic Affairs Daniel Keller. »Ultimately, it is the framework conditions in Europe that have led to the last European solar glass manufacturer filing for insolvency. As a result, the EU is running blindly into dependence on Chinese products.«
Together with GMB’s works council, the company’s management, the Brandenburg Economic Development Agency, the district of Spree-Neisse and the Döbern-Land office, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said it had discussed various offers of support and taken initiatives to maintain the site. These included political initiatives to reduce energy prices and offers to deal with the costs of short-time working. Minister Keller had already written to the German government and EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič in February of this year. In it, he called for a resilience bonus and an extension of the EU’s anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures to protect against Chinese imports supported by subsidies in order to protect the domestic solar glass industry.
GMB has been part of Borosil Renewables Limited since October 2022, which holds 86 percent of the shares in the Interfloat Group. The remaining shares are held by the Blue Minds Company.
© PHOTON
