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“We are sending a significant signal to our customers, suppliers and also the region.” Haba has already been able to generate new orders from municipalities and has made important contacts at the toy fair in Nuremberg and at the didacta education fair in Cologne, said a spokeswoman. With the end of the bankruptcy, the traditional company can now take part in public tenders again. Haba makes a large part of its sales with orders for furniture in kindergartens and all-day care facilities under the Haba Pro brand.
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High-quality toys and games to promote development
In addition to this division, the company would like to focus primarily on high-quality toys and games to promote development in the future. The company did not want to give specific economic key figures as a target for 2024 once the bankruptcy was completed. The current year is primarily about consolidation and about sending a sign of reliability to the outside world, the spokeswoman added.
Haba also announced personnel changes at the top of the company on Friday. In addition to the Habermaass family of shareholders and the managing directors Mario Wilhelm and Stefanie Frieß, a steering committee will be set up as a supervisory body that will advise the management in the future. The restructuring expert Marcus Katholing will also continue to support the management. “In the last few months we have worked intensively on clear brand positioning, sustainable cost structures and a sustainable positioning of the company internally and externally,” said Martin Mucha, general representative in the insolvency proceedings.
“Jako-o” brand discontinued
Haba began insolvency proceedings last September. At the end of 2023, the company announced a reduction of 450 jobs. Around 1,000 jobs were to be retained at the company headquarters in Upper Franconia; a transfer company with a term of six months was set up for the remaining employees. In the course of the bankruptcy, Haba discontinued the Jako-o brand and separated from its Eisleben furniture production site in Saxony-Anhalt.
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According to IG Metall Coburg representative Nicole Ehrsam, around 80 percent of the affected employees decided to accept the offer to join the transfer company. 70 employees have already found new jobs. From the union’s perspective, the company’s economic difficulties resulted primarily from poor decisions made by the former Haba management. For the future, the works council would therefore like to see greater participation and more transparent communication from company management, said Ehrsam. Due to the job cuts, Haba also lost a lot of knowledge and experience that first had to be rebuilt. Now it’s important to rebuild the trust that has been lost.
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