FYI: AGFA-Photo has filed for protection from its creditors

[edward_zimmermann]

It has just been announced on the radio that Agfa-Photo apparently is

not able to meet its payroll obligations and has filed (yesterday was

a holliday here in Bavaria) for protection from its creditors.

[edward_zimmermann]

"<cite>1800 Mitarbeiter allein in Deutschland betroffen</cite>

<P>

<cite>Agfa Photo vor dem Aus</cite>

.

.

.

<cite>Die Agfa-Photo GmbH in Leverkusen steht vor dem Aus. Das Unternehmen hat Insolvenz angemeldet, bestätigte ein Unternehmenssprecher gegenüber Handelsblatt.com. Weitere Details wollte er zunächst nicht nennen. Betroffen sind rund 1 800 Mitarbeiter in Deutschland, davon 870 in Leverkusen. </cite>"

[<A HREF="http://www.handelsblatt.com/pshb?fn=tt&sfn=go&id=1042878">More</A>]

[ed_reems]

i really like their paper (multicontrast premium.) i wonder if this will affect prices and future availability?

[jan_de_ridder1]

It certainly will effect their prices, and unless the parts of Agfa are sold it will also effect the availability of their products.

Same as with Ilford, first theres a general shortage and when the products are distributed again the pricing will of drastically gone up.

Ilford DDX is now 16,75? instead of 10,95? a while ago when the shops were still selling off the old stocks. You might also find that the quality will change.

Analog photography doesn't "hit" it anymore does it,

 

- Contax

- Hasselblad

- Leica

- Ilford

- Agfa

 

and who knows what to come next.

 

I'me currently stocking up my favorites ,,,,,

[lex_jenkins]

Thanks, Edward. Apparently this news hasn't yet reached any of the U.S. news sources I've been able to dig up. Seems to have caught most of us by surprise. I suspect the timing of the announcement was intended to coincide both with your local holiday and ours in the U.S. (Memorial Day weekend).

[Andrew in Austin]

<p>Thanks for the posting Edward.   I can't say that this was unexpected, as Agfa film is more generally sold under private store labels at a discount on this side of the Atlantic.   The exception is APX 100, which is not always in stock at my local camera shop.</p>

 

<P>Hopefully, if a reorganization is possible, production will continue in a third country with labor costs lower than the Federal Republic of Germany.   I know that this will be very much easier said than done.</p>

 

<p><a href="http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2005/05/27/afx2060455.html" target=_blank>Forbes</a> has a short piece stating only that the filing will have no impact on Gevaert-Agfa.   I guess at Forbes, at least, the fate of AgfaPhoto isn't major news.</p>

[Andrew in Austin]

Oh yeah, I forgot one thing.   Buy Rodinal!

[silent1]

Fortunately, Calbe R-09 is still available from J&C Photo and other suppliers of European materials; it's said to be an older version of Rodinal (closer to the original formula as published in references like the <i>Film Developing Cookbook</i>).<p>

 

All else fails, I've read somewhere (here, or on APUG, I don't recall) a method of making p-aminophenol from acetaminophen (non-aspirin headache tablets), and making a developer from the resulting solution. There are also "Rodinal" kits available from Photographer's Formulary, and the published formula; p-aminophenol isn't very hard to obtain and much cheaper than, say, amidol. Getting the "look" of Rodinal is the least of our worries. The loss of films like APX 100 and APX 400, and of the Agfa paper line, along with the overall effect on the film industry, will be of much greater concern if the company isn't able to return to production and profitability.

[al_divenuti]

Well, the sky may not be falling yet.

 

We've seen a couple photo suppliers successfully emerge from bankruptcy over the past year.

[al_divenuti]

Actually, I was probably too optimistic in the above.

 

German bankruptcy laws are a bit more draconian than most and it's probably doubtful they can secure additional financing. I think at this point all we can really hope for is the purchase of their operations or intellectual property by another company.

 

Insolvency in Germany is tantamount to Chapter 7 in the USA. Essentially, "filing for creditor protection" largely means that the assets of private equity holders in an incorporated entity are protected - the entity itself, however, can be picked clean to satisfy outstanding obligations.

[larrydressler]

I wonder if I did not see this happening. The PX/BX system for the U.S. Milatary recently changed from Agfa to that company in Italy for their Genaric house branded film. Not to mention I recentely fell inlove with Agfa Vista 800. Seems that company in Italy has gotten ahold of some great new films because in the last 6 months they have improved a whole lot.... There was another posting on another Forum Yesterday about this. But we gave it little notice. China and Italy are the last? Well both are Communist. LOL

[al_divenuti]

The Italian company is Ferrania...but I believe they were in bankruptcy about two years ago and now they just private-label film rather than produce their own.

[wickedmartini]

Agfa Gevaert says AgfaPhoto insolvency filed; sees no impact on earnings

05.27.2005, 04:35 AM

 

BRUSSELS (AFX) - Agfa Gevaert said there will be no 'material impact' on its business from the insolvency filing made by AgfaPhoto GmbH, a group to which it recently sold its consumer imaging business, despite ongoing links between the two.

 

Agfa Gevaert sold its consumer imaging unit, which operates under the name of AgfaPhoto, to a group of investors in November. Agfa Gevaert had granted a secured vendor loan for the full purchase price of 112 mln eur to the parent company AgfaPhoto Holding GmbH.

 

The company said: 'The vendor loan is fully secured by a lease portfolio held by AgfaPhoto GmbH. Agfa-Gevaert therefore does not expect the insolvency filing by AgfaPhoto to have a material effect on Agfa-Gevaert.'

 

afxbrussels@afxnews.com

 

ed/har

[bob_mcbob]

Should we be stocking up on Agfa films, then? I'm quite partial to APX 100, and APX 400 is nice and cheap for feeding my Holga.

[hilander]

I say stock up on all the APX you can get your hands on. I think we'll see a

large price increase if it does manage to stick around, like the Ilford products

are now.

[peter_obaldo]

German forums have mentioned that Agfaphoto wants to cut down expenses to be profitable. 'Layoffs' is an expensive route to trim work staff in Germany. By filing for protection from its creditors, this is the cheaper route for AgfaPhoto. Very interesting if true.

[rustys pics]

It means the days of cheap film, like cheap gas, are over. Film & paper will be still be

around, but we will have to pay a premium for it. Although I love APX 100, I have been

testing alternatives in the event it's gone. Efke 100 works very much like Agfapan 100

from 20 years back. If AGFAphoto pulls out on film, I'll be ready. Luckily Calbe makes a

Rodinal version as well. Time to get a one liter bottle from JandC!

[silent1]

As long as I can get Chinese film, cheap film isn't gone. I've been shooting J&C Pro 100 a lot lately, and if you're careful in developing it (keep the temperature down the 20 C and avoid acid stop bath) it's very nice indeed, custom coated and cut for J&C Photography. More recently, I've tested Lucky SHD 400, and while it's on a thin base and pretty curly, it's a more robust emulsion than the Pro 100 and looks a good bit like Tri-X did, say, ten years or so ago. When I run out of the TMY that's currently in my freezer, Lucky SHD 400 will replace it (at less than half the price). This is all in 120, I should add...

[mskovacs]

<i>I've read somewhere (here, or on APUG, I don't recall) a method of making p-aminophenol from acetaminophen (non-aspirin headache tablets), and making a developer from the resulting solution.</i>

<p>Acetaminophen IS para-aminophenol, so you'd just be isolating the relatively small pharmaceutical dose from the tablets. It sure would be easier (and probably cheaper) to simply buy some para-aminophenol from Sigma Aldrich! You can buy a 100g of >98% purity stuff for less than $15. I bet you'd have to buy a boatload of tablets to extract 100g.

[mskovacs]

sorry, acetaminophen is made from para aminophenol.

[StuartMoxham]

Well I have used neutol and agfa fixer for years. I like APX100 and 400 but in all honesty TriX is my favourite film. I guess neutol and agefix will be the stuff I miss most. I used Rodinal from time to time it frustrates me more than it pleases me but I may grab a bottle of Rodinal just to keep and some neutol an agefix until I find somting to replace them with. APX 100 and 400 may be worth stock up a bit of but at some time you have to change so I would not get that much.

[antonio_banfi]

"China and Italy are the last? Well both are Communist. LOL"

 

have you ever been outside your small room or you just waste your life watching television? It will suck up the remains of your (small) brain. Try to read some newspaper, moron.

[richard_trochlil]

Rumor going around the financial circles that Kodak grossly underestimated the impact of digital on their film sales, that the annual drop has been twice that anticpated which means their depreciation schedules will need looking at.

 

I guess we can brace for bad news from there...again.

[melvin_bramley]

I just read the first four post on DPReview,the digital site,news forum.These first four post lamented the possible dissapearence of Agfa Scala & other Agfa products. Others commented upon the possiblility of some Kodak films not being available! What a strange world we live in;digital users unhappy with the demise of film!I suppose we have got what we asked for;cheap this & that photo products whose manufacturers make no profit.Every time a manufacturer ceases to exsist we have one less choice.....Now; where can I buy a D70 $5 cheaper than at the Death'Star" Mart?

[sander_vesik]

<p>Isn't it odd how people look at one newsbite, for an opinion and then get stuck? There is a steady stream of information about the Agfaphoto bankrupticy and progress towards normalcy. The issue of being able to make payroll for workers was already solved by the time most English news outles got around to publishing the news :(</p>

 

<p>Googling for agfaphoto site:wdr.de or agfaphoto and Andreas Ringstmeier (and using google translate for those who don't know enough Gemrna) are some ways to keep up to date I suppose, but there is a whole bunch of others. </p>

 

<p>See say <a href="http://www.wdr.de/themen/wirtschaft/wirtschaftsbranche/agfa/050601.jhtml">http://www.wdr.de/themen/wirtschaft/wirtschaftsbranche/agfa/050601.jhtml</a>

for a slightly more complete and up to date picture. Do follow the links. </p>