Anxious hours for Iris Ceramica

It is a nail-biting start to the year for Iris Ceramica led by Romano Minozzi, one of the largest and oldest Italian groups in the ceramic sector with an estimated turnover of around 240 million euro. According to reports that have emerged in recent days, at the board meeting held on 5 January the company’s directors resolved to wind up the company voluntarily and appointed Giuseppe Pifferi as liquidator. The plan, which will affect three production facilities in the Sassuolo area and around 780 employees, was announced by the company management to workers’ representatives yesterday afternoon. GranitiFiandre, a company controlled by Iris and listed in the Star segment of the stock market since May 2001, will not be affected.
According to the figures presented by Pifferi at the board meeting on 5 January, the company’s sales began to fall significantly in 2007, plummeting by 30% in the third quarter of 2008. The negative cash balance in December 2008 alone amounted to 7.12 million euro.
The trade unions and local and regional political forces are unanimous in their concern and have requested meetings between the parties involved.
The trade unions CGIL, CISL and UIL have called a meeting with all employees on Monday in the Teatro Astoria in Fiorano to explain the liquidation plan.

The complex situation will be resolved over the next few hours. It is hoped that a solution will be found that safeguards jobs as far as possible and allows the activities of one of the best known Italian ceramic firms to continue. This would help inject a little optimism into the whole Italian sector and demonstrate to the world the solidity of the Italian ceramic tile industry.