Famous Romanian shoe factory goes into insolvency

Clujana, one of the oldest shoe factories in Romania, went into insolvency, according to a decision of the Cluj Specialized Court, cited by local Mediafax. The company has difficulties in repaying over RON 13 million (EUR 2.8 million) worth of historical debts to the tax authority ANAF, which was accumulated during 2013-2014. However, the factory has orders and contracts to continue its activity, according to the company’s general manager Florin Gliga. He said that the company has the financial resources to continue its activity and pay its historical debt, but lacks the liquidities to pay the historical debts. This problem can be solved by asset sales, as the company owns valuable assets that it doesn’t use for production. However, the company filed for insolvency to avoid the fire sale of its assets by ANAF. Clujana currently has 378 employees and is controlled by the Cluj County Council. The company had a turnover of EUR 2.2 million in 2016. The shoe maker was established in 1911. Before 1989 it was the biggest shoe factory in Romania, much of its production going to export. The company went bankrupt in 1999, when some 5,000 employees were laid off. The Cluj County Council took over the factory from the state’s privatization agency – APAPS and relaunched its production in 2005. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: Clujana on Facebook)