In an announcement today (10 July), Coloreel said the decision comes “after the company’s inability to develop its business volume quickly enough and, related to this, secure the necessary financing”.
The business said that despite many in-depth discussions with financial investors and potential industrial partners to secure additional funding, it had been unable to overcome its financial hurdles.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the filing for bankruptcy today. We have been working very hard to introduce a new technology and new ways of working on the global textile market,” said Anders Persson, chairman of the board at Coloreel Group.
“Despite relentless efforts to grow the business, minimize operational costs, and secure additional funding, the challenges are too great. The board and the management are incredibly proud of what our team has achieved, and we are grateful for the support we have received from our partners, customers, and investors.”
The filing also applies for the daughter company Coloreel AB.
Coloreel said it has aimed to transform the textile industry with unique colouring and design possibilities through a sustainable and efficient thread dyeing process.
With 27 staff and a turnover of just under €3m (£2.5m), the business serves over 90 customers in more than 20 countries, including many well-known brands. It holds over 120 granted patents across 14 patent families in 45 markets.
Speaking to Printweek, Coloreel CEO Torbjörn Bäck said the company’s daily operations continued to be managed by a bankruptcy administrator at present, and that its customers would be able to continue running their units and purchasing consumables.
He added it was “too early to evaluate the consequences for the organisation” with regards to what would happen to its staff, and on the possibility of a sale of the business and/or its assets, Bäck said there “are several ongoing discussions and several industrial actors have already done a quite detailed due diligence”.
Ricoh has been a strategic partner to Coloreel over the years.
Graham Kennedy, general manager Industrial Solutions at Ricoh Graphic Communications, told Printweek: “Ricoh has since its early days been both a supplier and supporter to Coloreel and it is very sad to see today’s announcement.
“Coloreel clearly has a unique and potentially transformative technology but as they say, operationally the challenges to achieve growth have been significant. We wish Torbjörn and his team all the best.”
