Slovakia's Last Major Employee-Owned Company Chemosvit Reports Heavy Losses Despite Electric Film Success

Chemosvit Folie, a packaging film printing company and part of Slovakia's Chemosvit chemical group, has lost nearly 8 million euros over the past two years. The company's struggles reflect declining demand for confectionery packaging, its primary business line. However, the firm's joint venture with Finnish partners in electric film production has shown strong growth, benefiting from the expansion of the electric vehicle market. Chemosvit represents Slovakia's last major example of employee privatization, a process that transferred state-owned companies to their workers during the post-communist transition. Unlike other major Slovak industrial firms that were sold to foreign investors, Chemosvit has remained under employee ownership, making its financial difficulties particularly significant for this rare ownership model in the country.