Tetenal is No More

[michaelwj]

What I don't understand is this: If the digital business for Tetenal was so bad, why did they not close it down earlier? Why ride a poorly performing business down into insolvency? 99% of companies close down poorly performing units to avoid losing money.

Because Tetenal did not make this obvious move, it leads me to believe there is something more structurally wrong with their business. Insolvency is something to be avoided at all costs.

The short answer is because company directors are on the whole pretty arrogant and think they can turn the business around. It happens all the time.

 

[Ted Striker]

The short answer is because company directors are on the whole pretty arrogant and think they can turn the business around. It happens all the time.

Arrogance may be the explanation, but very few companies the size of Tetenal go insolvent each year. Even fewer emerge from the process.

 

[farlymac]

What I've gathered about all this mess is that Tetenal makes the ink and cartridges for Epson printers. I just put mine in service about three months ago, so now I'm going to have to replace it? :bang:

Guess I better order another box set of inks so I don't have to go through the process a little while longer.

PF

 

[Skiff]

You are aware that we have in Europe also a different concentrated version of Kodak's HC-110. it needs 1+9 instead of 1+31 for dilution B.
Anyhow, I developed a lot with both and can't see any significant difference in the results.

Juergen

+1.
I've had the same experience. Results are about being identical, at least I could not tell which is which in a blind test.

 

[Skiff]

What I don't understand is this: If the digital business for Tetenal was so bad, why did they not close it down earlier?

Because the demand in the inkjet business collapsed in an extremely short time period. Short means during only some months. No one could expect such dramatic short time market changes. If such things happens, you simply have very bad luck as a manufacturer.

 

[Ted Striker]

Who makes Canon's printer inks?

 

[Ted Striker]

Because the demand in the inkjet business collapsed in an extremely short time period. Short means during only some months. No one could expect such dramatic short time market changes. If such things happens, you simply have very bad luck as a manufacturer.

Are we seeing the collapse of Canon, Epson, or HP's printer business? I've heard nothing about a catastrophic wipe out of printer sales, but then again, I'm not really looking for news like that.

 

[Skiff]

Are we seeing the collapse of Canon, Epson, or HP's printer business? I've heard nothing about a catastrophic wipe out of printer sales, but then again, I'm not really looking for news like that.

In the 00ies lots of market analysts thought inkjet printing is the next hot thing, completely replacing silver-halide printing.
But that has not happened at all. Silver-halide has the best price-performance ratio and has therefore remained the dominant medium for high-volume and low cost printing at labs. Even new silver-halide papers have been introduced.
In inkjet there has not been really significant progress in the last years, and the prices kept staying quite high.
We have to wait and see how this market is going on.
Digital cameras sales decreased again strongly last year. Whether this will have also effects on the printer market, I don't know.....

 

[Larry Cloetta]

New Tetenal issued a press release this morning, as follows below.
I have been told it more or less says, “not to worry, there will be no supply disruptions, order book is full, New Tetenal is not an official company yet, but we’re on it, and will likely be in control by end of March.”

But, it’s in German and the only German I know is schnitzle and Blaupunkt, so maybe a better educated or more cosmopolitan person can read this and verify:

Norderstedt, 14. Februar 2019

NEW TETENAL – Mitarbeiterinitiative hat Angebot zum Kauf der Formelsammlung, der Marke und der Produktionsmittel ihres ehemaligen Arbeitgebers abgegeben.
Nach dem Bekanntwerden der Liquidation der Tetenal Europe GmbH und der darauf als Reaktion gegründeten Mitarbeiterinitiative zur Rettung der analogen Photo-Chemie hat das Team um Stefania Grimme, Carsten Gehring, Burkhardt Müller und Norbert Köster-Beestermöller in den letzten Wochen
eine überwältigende Anzahl positiver Rückmeldungen von ehemaligen Mitarbeitern, Enthusiasten der analogen Photografie aus aller Welt, aber auch von gewerblichen Anwendern und Kunden der insolventen TETENAL Europe GmbH erhalten. „Die vielen guten Wünsche motivieren uns in unserer
Absicht mit einer NEW TETENAL in die Zukunft zu gehen“, so Stefania Grimme.
Auch von Partnern aus der Industrie - von Kalifornien im Westen bis Japan im Osten - wird weltweit Unterstützung signalisiert, um die NEW TETENAL als innovativen und zuverlässigen Partner in Deutschland für die Welt zu etablieren. Zahlreiche Gespräche, um die zukünftige Zusammenarbeit zu
konkretisieren, wurden vereinbart.

Der Insolvenzverwalter, Dr. Sven-Holger Undritz, zeigte sich heute erfreut, das Angebot des Gründerteams in den Kanzleiräumen der White & Case in Hamburg entgegen zu nehmen. Die Anwaltsteams des Insolvenzverwalters und des Gründerteams haben heute in einer gemeinsamen Sitzung den Fahrplan für die weiteren Schritte festgelegt.

An diesem entscheidenden Punkt konkretisiert sich nun die Gründung und Aufnahme der Geschäftstätigkeit der NEW TETENAL. Im Anschluss an die geplante Ausproduktion durch die insolvente TETENAL soll ab dem 1. April 2019 der operative Betrieb der neuen Gesellschaft starten.

„Bereits ab Anfang März wird es für Kunden und Kooperationspartner der NEW TETENAL möglich sein, Aufträge zu erteilen, die eine Voraussetzung für einen Produktionsstart in dem neuen Start-Up Unternehmen ab 1. April sind“, erläutern Carsten Gehring und Burkhardt Müller.

„Für was steht die NEW TETENAL?“ - ist eine häufig gestellte Frage an das Management-Team der Initiative. „Wir wissen, wo wir herkommen und verstehen die Verantwortung für 172 Jahre Photo- Geschichte.

Wir werden - gemeinsam mit der weltweiten Photo-Community und den verbliebenen Schlüsselpartnern in der analogen Photo-Industrie - bewährte Produkte wieder auflegen, die Versorgung der Film- und Photostudios sicherstellen und völlig neue Geschäftsmodelle, Produkte und
Services für die Zukunft entwickeln.“, merkt Burkhardt Müller an.

„Die Versorgung der Auslandstöchter
wird auch unter NEW TETENAL unterbrechungsfrei fortgesetzt“, ergänzt Norbert Köster-
Beestermöller.
Ansprechpartner NEW TETENAL:
• Herr Carsten Gehring (Vertrieb): carsten.gehring@new-tetenal.de
• Herr Norbert Köster-Beestermöller (Vertrieb): norbert.koesterbeestermoeller@
new-tetenal.

 

[CharlesDAMorgan]

If they can afford White and Case they must have some backing!

Excellent news.

 

[Ted Striker]

New Tetenal issued a press release this morning, as follows below.
I have been told it more or less says, “not to worry, there will be no supply disruptions, order book is full, New Tetenal is not an official company yet, but we’re on it, and will likely be in control by end of March.”

Bankruptcy sure moves a lot faster in Germany than in the US.

 

[jerrybro]

Bankruptcy sure moves a lot faster in Germany than in the US.

Unless you're General Motors.

 

[Ted Striker]

Unless you're General Motors.

Well, the US government stepped in and made that move a lot faster than it would normally had.

 

[HHPhoto]

New Tetenal issued a press release this morning, as follows below.
I have been told it more or less says, “not to worry, there will be no supply disruptions, order book is full, New Tetenal is not an official company yet, but we’re on it, and will likely be in control by end of March.”

That is correct, Larry.
The photo chemistry production shall be bought by the former leading stuff and the employees / workers. It looks more like an "employee buy out", and not so much a management buy out. That is very good in my opinion. The enterprise is supported by the whole team.

If this will be successful, it is really the best case scenario:
- New Tetenal remains independent
- full photo chemistry production continues
- they get rid of all the non-profitable digital product programmes and concentrate completely on the profitable film based products.
Perfect situation for us film shooters and the film revival.

But, it’s in German and the only German I know is schnitzle and Blaupunkt, so maybe a better educated or more cosmopolitan person can read this and verify:

It is "Schnitzel" and it's very delicious 😀.

Cheers, Jan

 

[Larry Cloetta]

“It is "Schnitzel" and it's very delicious .

Cheers, Jan”

My knowledge of German just reduced by half🙁

 

[Pioneer]

That is the wrong way to look at it Larry. Your knowledge of German is now twice as large as it used to be. 😀

 

[Ted Striker]

- they get rid of all the non-profitable digital product programmes and concentrate completely on the profitable film based products.
Perfect situation for us film shooters and the film revival.

Why didn't Tetenal do this before going insolvent? Millions upon millions of euros could have been saved. This makes no sense whatsoever.

 

[Larry Cloetta]

That is the wrong way to look at it Larry. Your knowledge of German is now twice as large as it used to be. 😀

I guess that’s right, thanks!

But, now I’m wondering why it is spaetzle instead of spaetzel.

 

[retinax]

I guess that’s right, thanks!

But, now I’m wondering why it is spaetzle instead of spaetzel.

If you really want to know, ...le is a diminutive ending in southwestern dialects and ...el is an ending that, I think, indicates a verb has been turned into a noun.

 

[Skiff]

Why didnt Tetenal do this before going insolvent?

It has been explained in this thread several times. Look above.