Insolvency proceedings against Alno managers: Twilight of the Gods in the kitchen business!

The Alno AG insolvency process has begun at the Stuttgart regional court. Two former board members are on trial for delaying bankruptcy and breach of trust, while a third defendant is accused of aiding and abetting breach of trust. Alno AG, a renowned kitchen manufacturer based in Pfullendorf, filed for bankruptcy in July 2017. The Stuttgart public prosecutor suspects that the company was already insolvent before the official bankruptcy.

As part of the insolvency proceedings, an investor took over significant parts of Alno. Kitchen production was initially continued, but later had to file for bankruptcy. A total of nine people were originally charged by the public prosecutor, while proceedings against six people were dropped. The remaining three defendants will remain in court until early September 2025.

Claims and creditors

Insolvency administrator Martin Hörmann reported that 1,268 creditors were listed with claims totaling 1.68 billion euros. Around 200 million euros of these claims were recognized as justified. In the fourth quarter of 2024, an advance distribution of ten percent was made to the creditors whose claims were identified in the insolvency table. The Stuttgart Regional Court is currently examining whether the charges will be admitted to the main hearing; a decision on this is still pending.

Until it went bankrupt, Alno had over 2,000 employees and, at its best, generated sales of more than 500 million euros. Operations finally ceased in September 2021. Six years after the bankruptcy, the public prosecutor's office brought charges against the former responsible persons for delaying bankruptcy, loan fraud, bankruptcy and breach of trust t-online.de as well as Stuttgart newspaper reported.