Potential Investor Visits Facilities of Spanish Tissue Specialist CEL

There is new hope for the financially troubled Spanish tissue specialist CEL Technologies & Systems (CEL).

A union representative confirmed that a potential investor from Chile has been visiting the company’s facilities this week. During what is the unidentified Chilean company’s second visit since July, the potential investor will reportedly hold meetings with the local government, CEL’s works council and the insolvency administrator.

CEL’s management submitted a redundancy scheme, a so-called "expediente de regulación de empleo (ERE)", in early August which provided for the closure of three production sites and the elimination of more than 230 jobs. According to the trade union Euskal Langileen Alkartasuna (ELA), the CEL management was seeking the closure of the group companies Ecofibras Aranguren, Celulosas Aranguren and CEL Technologies & Systems Issue. Under the plan, only the group company Dermo Products Development was supposed to keep operating.

According to CEL’s works committee, the Chilean group is the only potential investor that has been in contact with worker representatives. The committee now hopes that the group has come "with something more concrete" this time.