Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
News
March 10, 1997 01:00 AM

EAGLE-PICHER TO SELL ITS PLASTICS DIVISION

Joseph Pryweller PLASTICS NEWS STAFF
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    Eagle-Picher Industries Inc. will sell its plastics division to help clear a path for growth after emerging from reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

    The division makes parts from sheet molding compound and fiberglass-reinforced polyester for the automotive industry and other markets. Plants are in Huntington, Ashley and Grabill, Ind., all of which surround the Fort Wayne, Ind., metropolitan area.

    The facilities employ nearly 800 and have 49 compression molding presses. Twenty-three of the presses have clamping forces of 1,000-4,000 tons, while the others have much smaller tonnages.

    ``After some rethinking, we decided to divest ourselves of the operation,'' said Andries Ruijssenaars, Eagle-Picher president and chief operating officer.

    ``If we're not No. 1 or No. 2 in a niche market, we have to see whether we can get to that position. We concluded that it was impractical and costly to invest an enormous amount of resources in SMC, where we are far from No. 1.''

    Eagle-Picher will use the cash infusion from the sale to expand its other operations, Ruijssenaars said. Recently, the company has turned its attention from the freshly settled, six-year bankruptcy proceedings to growing many of its core businesses.

    To do that, Eagle-Picher also is selling its small Fabricon Products Division. The River Rouge, Mich., division makes flexible paper packaging products coated with polypropylene and other substrate materials.

    Also on the market is the company's Transicoil Division of Valley Forge, Pa., which manufactures small motors and several electrical products.

    Cincinnati-based Eagle-Picher has hired a professional search firm to locate buyers. Currently, the company is assessing offers for its Plastics Division from several competitors, Ruijssenaars said. In addition, another bid has come from a management group in the plastics division, he said.

    Eagle-Picher officials would not disclose which companies are interested in the plastics plants. Major SMC competitors include Budd Co.'s Plastics Division in Troy, Mich., Cambridge Industries Inc. in Madison Heights, Mich., and Bailey Corp. in Seabrook, N.H., a unit of Venture Industries Corp. of Fraser, Mich.

    Although Eagle-Picher gave no timetable for the sale, a company source said to expect a decision within 60 days.

    The plastics division recorded 1996 sales of about $80 million, less than one-tenth of Eagle-Picher's combined annual sales of $891.3 million. Eagle-Picher manufactures hundreds of industrial products for the automotive, defense, aerospace and construction markets.

    Industry experts estimate the division could be sold for $20 million to $40 million.

    The plastics group suffered a blow last year when General Motors Corp. announced it was discontinuing its line of front-wheel-drive minivans. The 153,000-square- foot Huntington plant had supplied SMC roof panels for the vehicles, which include the Chevrolet Lumina, Oldsmobile Silhouette and Pontiac Trans Sport.

    ``It's been a profitable division, but we're reeling a little from the loss,'' said plastics division sales engineer James Grzelak. ``It's a tough time in automotive because we're being asked do what we can to keep prices affordable while trying to fill capacity.''

    The 135,000-square-foot Ashley plant and 290,000-square-foot Grabill facility are operating at close to capacity, Grzelak said. Automotive components account for 60 percent of the plants' business. The facilities also produce parts for recreational watercraft, outboard motor cowlings, agricultural tractor cabs, exterior doors and other components.

    The potential sale comes on the heels of Eagle-Picher Industries' emergence from bankruptcy Nov. 29. The firm had filed for protection in 1991 to resolve 150,000 personal-injury claims, dating from 1934, from exposure to products containing asbestos.

    Under the settlement, Eagle-Picher agreed to pay $2 billion to cover present and future claims. Funds to cover claims and all the company's outstanding shares of common stock were transferred to a trust fund for distribution to litigants. Since then, Eagle-Picher has shifted from a publicly held to a private company.

    Eagle-Picher had not made any transactions to buy other companies or shed divisions since it went into Chapter 11, Ruijssenaars said. Even so, since 1991, sales ballooned from $585 million to close to $900 million.

    Since November, however, the company has made up for lost time by launching an aggressive expansion program. It invested close to $200 million recently in plants, equipment and products. New programs include construction of a $14 million ore-processing plant near an Oregon mining site and a $12 million plant in Virginia to make rubber-coated engine and brake seals and gaskets.

    However, Eagle-Picher's SMC business has moved in fits and starts, with some years showing profits and some showing losses, said Ernest Hirsh, vice president of the company's automotive division.

    ``The folks in the plastics division have done a marvelous job at keeping operations moving forward over time,'' Hirsh said. ``We think another company that specializes in this area could do an even better job at being good parents. That would be a win situation for everyone.''

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Georgia home to new PET chemical recycling plant
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Tornadoes, severe weather impact Texas resin plants
    2
    Dow cutting 2,000 jobs, ‘evaluating ... global asset base'
    3
    Guilty plea in scheme involving $4.1M in fraudulent polymer sales
    4
    MAPP survey shows ‘struggling' plastics processing sector
    5
    Plastics firms work to eliminate PFAS use as pressure mounts
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified