EUROPEAN freight operator Helrom has applied for preliminary insolvency. IRJ understands that this has been filed with a court in Germany.
The move was confirmed by Helrom’s sales director, Bruno Weissmann, who said on July 17: “This marks the beginning of a restructuring phase, not the end of our journey. Our goal is clear: to consolidate, strengthen, and ensure the long-term viability of our operations. We are focusing on what works best: preserving our core business and continuing service along our key east-west and north-south corridors without interruption.”
IRJ recently visited Helrom’s terminal in Lébény, Hungary, and was able to see first-hand its innovative swing-tray wagon technology that allows semi-trailers to be loaded and unloaded on hard standing without requiring any dedicated terminal infrastructure.
Helrom first began operating services in 2021 and was preparing to launch a new service from Düsseldorf to Katowice, in addition to existing services from Düsseldorf to Vienna, Budapest, Verona and Trento, as well as Regensburg - Verona.
Swiss Life Asset Management completed the acquisition of a “significant stake” in Helrom to become anchor investor in April 2022 and as recently as May this year Helrom successfully completed a €32.9m green loan deal with Société Générale and DAL Deutsche Anlagen-Leasing, to purchase 120 new wagons.
Weissman was keen to state that company intends to continue trading: “While we are discontinuing routes that are not economically sustainable, this is a strategic step forward, allowing us to focus even more on serving our customers with reliability and clarity. This is a difficult chapter for our team, partners, and everyone who believes in our mission. But we’re taking it head-on, with transparency and responsibility.”
