RUSSIAN-AUSTRIAN FIRM IS NEW OWNER OF CROATIA'S SISAK IRONWORKS

SISAK, Dec 5 (Hina) - The board of creditors of the Sisak Ironworks on Tuesday gave its consent to the trustee in bankruptcy Ilija Maric to sign a contract on the sale of the company to the Russian- Austrian firm Trubo Impex. The Sisak Ironworks will be sold for the symbolic price of one kuna. The buyer will pay for supplies of finished goods at the company, estimated at approximately DM10 million, to the bankruptcy council. These funds will be used to pay out the difference in workers' salaries for September and October and full salaries for November and December, Maric said. Under the sale contract, the strategic partner will enter the company in Sisak, a town some 50 km south-east of Zagreb, on Jan. 15. The firm will be renamed Sisak-Nova Ironworks and employ 1,700 out of the former 2,032 workers. There will be no layoffs in the next five years. The surplus of 332 workers will be provided for in line with the law, said Maric, who expects the sale contract will be signed in the next few days. Representatives of the company's two unions are happy with the contract, which they say has salvaged the company, retained most jobs, and ensured a regular payment of salaries. The Trubo Impex company was founded by 14 steel and steel product manufacturers from Russia and several private parties. In its offer, the company offered about DM6 million for repairs upon entering the company, and a DM15 million investment for new equipment next year. The Sisak Ironworks has filed for bankruptcy with reorganisation in September, when its debt revolved around 230 million kuna (approx. DM60.53 million). (hina) ha sb