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Originally Posted by Rangefinderfreak
I heard a completely different explanation of product halt in Photokina:
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What you heard at Photokina is nonsense: Fotokemika has been privatized more than a decade ago, and has looong ago sold its properties (old factory site) in the centre of capital, Zagreb.
It has been relocated to a small town named Samobor more than a decade ago, and BTW, there they are RENTING the space - and have been doing so since they relocated.
So, the story you heard was (somewhat) accurate perhaps 15 years ago - and only inasmuch as the property was indeed sold: but the factory continued to operate on another location. I repeat: it was 15 years ago
The fact is that their machinery is ancient, and that one of their machines broke down. The cost of repair simply added to the declining numbers in the balance sheet, so the owners decided to quit before they go into debt (they still have to pay the rent for the present factory site, remember?).
Anyway, the story has been reported on numerous photo sites - try apug, where Mirko from Fotoimpex provided a detailed report on the situation.
BTW, I'm from Croatia, and have been in contact with the people from Fotokemika for years... They have been complaining about rising cost of raw materials for years now, which contributed to dwindling profits: the cost of possible repair of the broken machine was just the last straw...
We're all sorry for what happened, but no one is to blame: we can't realistically expect them to manufacture their products at a loss, can we?
