MAN: Czech truck manufacturer expresses interest in taking over the plant in Steyr 

The Munich truck manufacturer MAN has just reached an agreement with the works council to cut 3,500 jobs.

The future of the plant in Steyr remained unclear.

Now the matter could move.

Munich - The Czech commercial vehicle manufacturer

Tatra

has expressed interest in taking over the

MAN

plant in

Steyr

.

"We are ready to prepare a corresponding offer for Steyr", Tatra boss

Pavel Lazar

told Merkur.de * on Wednesday.

The location is interesting because of "the production technologies, know-how and experience of the employees".

The Tatra boss made it clear that the company was open to various solutions, including consortia.

The

MAN

board agreed a week ago, after lengthy and bitter negotiations with the works council, to cut 3,500 jobs in Germany.

Originally, the

VW

* subsidiary wanted to cut up to 9500 jobs.

In addition, the

Plauen

(Rhineland-Palatinate)

location

and the plant in

Steyr

in Upper

Austria are

still up for grabs, it said.

MAN: The company has so far kept all options open for the future of the Steyr plant

At its location near Linz,

MAN

, with around 2,200 employees, has so far been building light and medium-sized vehicles (TGL and TGM).

According to the plans of

MAN

boss

Andreas Tostmann

, production from Steyr is to be

relocated to

the Polish

MAN plant

in Krakow in the

medium term

.

For Steyr, the board continues to examine "all options, including those of a sale or a closure," it said.

With a view to the open future of the Steyr location,

Tatra

has been

pushing

for talks with

MAN

management and the Austrian federal government

for months

- but so far apparently in vain.

MAN: Tatra is hoping for improved market access to Austria and Germany

The Czech company builds

around 1200 trucks per year

at its plant in

Kopřivnice

near the borders with Poland and Slovakia, around 55 percent, half of which are military vehicles.

In addition to the Czech army, customers also include the military in Slovakia and Denmark.

The rest goes to municipal companies or construction companies.

Tatra boss Lazar hopes that a possible takeover of the plant in Steyr will not only provide additional production capacities but also an expansion of his model range.

So far, the Czechs have concentrated on the production of special vehicles in the heavy class from 18 tons.

In Steyr,

Tatra

could in the

future also manufacture light and medium-sized trucks and start series production of heavy trucks.

MAN prospective buyer Tatra in family hands

According to its own information,

Tatra

achieved a turnover of 227 million euros with around 1000 employees last year.

The main owner with 65 percent is the

CSG

(Czechoslovak Group) around the Czech entrepreneur

Michal Strnad

.

The remaining 35 percent belong to the Czech family company

Promet Group

.

* Merkur.de is part of the Ippen Digital network.