For Álava-based steel pipe manufacturer Tubos Reunidos, the situation seems bleak and potentially fatal, as the board of directors informed both the National Securities Market Commission’na and a court in Vitoria-Gasteiz’ that the company cannot meet its upcoming financial liabilities or liabilities.
The company is facing an increased debt of €263 million. Tubos Reunidos, which specializes in the production of seamless steel pipes for sectors such as energy and petrochemicals, started to close the last fiscal year with a loss of € 82.5 million from the profit reporting in 2023’.
Originally founded in 1892 as Tubos Forjados during the industrial boom in ’ in Basque’, it later merged with a U.S. ’ multinational company in 1968. The company also operates in ’ in Vizcaya, Spain and Houston, Texas. About 1,300 employees of the company held a series of demonstrations this week to protest the situation in Orduña, Amurrio and Bilbao, Spain, the Basque Country ’nde.
The company had also proposed a mass layoff program (ERE) that would affect 242 workers, but the proposal was rejected by four unions.
Donald Trump’'s tariffs on the global steel and aluminum sectors have significantly strained the company's finances.
But Tubos Reunidos was already facing significant structural challenges. After the 2023 summit, there was a big decrease in income; Increasing energy and labor costs in Europe ’ and cheaper Chinese competition are also putting pressure on the sector.
Investors' confidence in the company's future has declined in the past few months, and the company has reduced its share price from 57 euro cents to 14 euro cents in the last 12 months. After the announcement, the sale of the company's shares was stopped.
Following the bankruptcy filing, the company is expected to be led by an executive appointed by the commercial division of the court.
Public credit is being investigated
The company was granted a state-sponsored emergency loan from Spain’'s SEPI’ (public industrial support fund) at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. He is currently under judicial review for allegations that he may have been affected by inappropriate political contacts. SEPI is under scrutiny after investigators filed a lawsuit over possible influence trading linked to how funding was secured.
Spanish courts are investigating whether intermediaries and political figures helped speed up or influence the credit process in exchange for alleged payments; There are also broader bribery charges involving a large number of companies. The case is still under investigation and no final result has been reached.
