Creative Engineered Polymer Products LLC expects to sell its holdings in a series of sales under the supervision of U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
The company filed for Chapter 11 protection with the court in Akron, Ohio, on Sept. 20, less than a week after announcing it would close half of its plants.
An injection molder and blow molder with sales to the auto, construction and medical industries, CEP was created in 2005 when private equity company Reserve Group of Akron purchased six plants formerly operated by Carlisle Engineered Products. Reserve Group later added two facilities from Parker Hannifin Corp. It had annual sales estimated at nearly $200 million.
In September, though, the firm announced it would close three plants in Ohio - in Crestline, Canton and Vandalia - and one in Lapeer, Mich., by the end of the year.
CEP expects to sell its other holdings as separate entities, said Joseph Hutchinson Jr., a Cleveland lawyer representing the company.
The firm's product mix is varied, he said, and the facilities will attract more attention when sold individually. A site that relies heavily on parts for Honda Motor Co. Ltd., for instance, will draw different buyers than one making parts for General Motors Corp., while a blow molder probably would not be interested in injection molding operations.
Hutchinson said he expects to have sales plans firmed up with the court within weeks.
CEP estimated its debts at between $10 million and $50 million in its filing, with Washington Penn Plastic Co. its biggest unsecured creditor, owed $2.8 million. CEP listed resin supplier DuPont Co. and its Mexican subsidiary as its second- and third-largest creditors, owed a combined $2.7 million.