On November 1, the
District Court of The Hague declared the company Celtic Koeling bankrupt. M.W. Schüller was appointed as curator. The Nieuw-Vennep-based refrigeration company was founded in 1997, working in the design and installation of custom refrigeration and freezer systems, air conditioning systems and turnkey solutions for the refrigeration of vegetables, fruit, flowers and more.
Commenting, director Joost van Klink said the reason for the downfall is that the company derived 80 percent of its sales from exports. "Those exports, like for many other companies, fell away during the Covid period and they did not recover quickly enough post-Covid to pay the accrued tax liabilities."
For operations in the Netherlands, Van Klink says he is in talks with several parties for a restart. He emphasizes that bankruptcy of the international branch, Celtic International, is not at stake. Celtic Refrigeration employs about 25 people. Celtic International with its three foreign subsidiaries in Kenya, Ghana and Ethiopia employs a total of about 40 people. "We are in the final stages of a sale to a foreign party, that will probably be completed this week," he said.