Technology center Oberhausen

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
HDO / Triple-e on Vestischen Strasse in Oberhausen

The Technology Center Oberhausen (English: High Definition Oberhausen ; HDO for short ) was a film studio in Oberhausen . It was intended as a lighthouse project to drive structural change in the Ruhr area. However, it hardly caused a sensation through film productions but rather through large-scale subsidy fraud to the detriment of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Federal Republic of Germany . The damage to the taxpayer is estimated at over 100 million DM with just 25 employees.

History of the company

HDO was founded in 1991 with the financial participation of the former SED functionaries Gerd Pelikan and Lothar Bisky - presumably with money from the assets of the SED -, the Philips group and with subsidies from the state. The director Michael Pflegehar acted as the first managing director . After repeated financial difficulties in 1998, the North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Wolfgang Clement had to justify himself for the first time in a committee of inquiry . As head of the State Chancellery, Clement played a key role in establishing the HDO. Because the public pressure continued to rise, HDO finally moved, at the instigation of the State Chancellery, to a US-Israeli consortium led by the investor Ligad Rotlevy , who could refer to relevant experience and good contacts with the Digital Domain company . The sale was again generously accompanied by securities and subsidies through the country. Instead of going into the company, however, most of the funds made available flowed abroad. After just three years, HDO was facing bankruptcy again.

The last owners were the brothers Bernd and Helmut Breuer, two building contractors who came into the television business in 1990 through the Hürther Magic Media Company . In the context of the 2001 state elections, they initially gave the HDO a loan of DM 1.4 million to support Wolfgang Clement, who feared losing the election if his flagship project went bankrupt. This deal came about through the mediation of Helmut Thoma , who acted as media advisor to Wolfgang Clement from 1998 to 2002. When the loan failed to be repaid, the brothers instead accepted an offer from the State Chancellery to take over HDO entirely. According to their own information, they acted in the belief that the company would continue to be protected by the national leadership. Instead, however, they were quickly overwhelmed by outstanding debts and lost a total of more than DM 13 million. A viable business model did not exist. In 2008 they sued the state of North Rhine-Westphalia for damages in the amount of their losses.

The former company buildings in Oberhausen have been empty for a long time and have changed hands several times since 2005.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ David Schraven : Interview: Bodo Hombach promotes “pragmatism instead of visions” in the Ruhrstadt debate . ( Memento from February 25, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) derwesten.de, April 20, 2010
  2. ^ Karl-Heinz Steinkühler: Media Park: Hollywood in Red . In: Focus , No. 29/1988.
  3. ↑ Andreas Förster: offices and law firm in Berlin searched . In: Berliner Zeitung , January 15, 1999
  4. ↑ Jörg Schmitt: The nightmare factory . In: Der Spiegel . No. 38 , 2005, p. 92-95 ( online ).
  5. ^ Karl-Heinz Steinkühler: Risky imposition . In: Focus , No. 52/1998
  6. ^ Nils Klawitter: The factory of the German afternoon . In: Die Zeit , No. 44/1997.
  7. ↑ Barbara Schmid: Deceived and set up . In: Der Spiegel . No. 5 , 2008, p. 46-48 ( online ).
  8. ↑ HDO building must not become an eyesore . derwesten.de, November 12, 2008

Coordinates: 51 ° 30 ′ 13 "  N , 6 ° 52 ′ 48"  E