The remains of Romania's Rulmentul Brasov bearing manufacturing facilities are being put back on the market after its most recent bidder, Tampa Resort srl, failed to pay any of the agreed deposits on its €35 million pricetag.

Rulmentul Brasov has been put up for bid / auction / sale yet again as of April, but arrangements are not yet complete.

Founded in 1949, state-run Rulmentul Brasov was once Romania's largest bearing manufacturing operation. The complex employed over 9,000 workers, producing ball bearings, linear bearings, tapered roller bearings and needle roller bearings. Official brands were RBR and URB (Uzina Rulmentul Brasov).

Even by the standards of poorly-run state enterprises, Rulmentul Brasov was a financial disaster. Its losses drained Romanian government assets, crippled local government finances, created massive inefficiencies across its state-run industrial supply chain, and wasted precious precision manufacturing resources.

Even the most corrupt, bloated, inefficient operations were important to Romanian government authorities, however, as a parking place for many thousands of people who would otherwise be considered unemployed in the troubled Brasov area.

By 2005, however, with the Romanian economy on the verge of collapse, state aid could not keep up; Rulmentul Brasov was decaying, neglected and beyond salvage. The IMF and EC were interceding to force the government's hand in financial matters. Additionally, they pressured Romanian authorities, specifically naming Rulmentul Brasov as the worst of the money-losing state-supported businesses which must be closed or sold to avoid international sanctions.

In 2007, Romania finally agreed to give up the pretense of operating or selling off the facilities as a bearing manufacturing operation and began shutting it down. Rulmentul Brasov was finally shut down for good in mid-2007.

eBearing has been tracking the developments in a series of articles:

2005 article: IMF cracks down on Romania, targets Rulmentul Brasov

2005 article: Rulmentul Brasov acquisition terms and conditions set

2005 article: Rulmentul Brasov attracts two bidders

2006 article: Romania rejects last remaining bid for Rulmentul Brasov

2006 article: Rulmentul Brasov privatization effort put on hold

2007 article: Rulmentul Brasov likely to close; workers stage walkout

2007 article: Rulmentul Brasov finally shut down

In this most recent attempt to sell off the entire property, Tampa Resort srl had until March 18 to pay off its €35 million bid obligation. Tampa had already missed the January deadline for an initial €4 million deposit, and missed a February deadline for €9 million.

Tampa Resort claimed its financial backers, from Central Sun, Spain, had been hurt by the economic downturn and could no longer back the purchase, which was to have been guaranteed by Swiss Financial Corporation of Spain.

Tampa Resort's plan was for the remaining bearing manufacturing facilities to be moved to another location, the plant torn down, and a luxury highrise built in its place -- along with a factory for making photovoltaic cells.

This latest attempt now underway marks the 14th effort to sell off Rulmentul Brasov. This April offering, however, seems certain to guarantee the facility is sold off in bits and pieces -- as land, equipment, and buildings. All sales are currently being handled through RVA Insolvency Specialists [website], a business liquidator based in Bucharest.

RVA's description of the Rulmentul Brasov opportunity is here.