Former owner buys back Cady Bag Co.
PEARSON, GA. - Cady Bag Co. will re-emphasize produce packaging for its polypropylene fabrics under new ownership.
The Pearson firm recently was part of Firstline Corp. until it was purchased by a financial company and William Cady, former owner of the Cady Bag business who sold it to Firstline in 2005.
The Pearson operation makes polypropylene fabric for house wrap and agricultural packaging for cotton bales, pecans and other bulk commodities. Firstline geared the fabric mainly to house wrap because it didn't have an understanding of agricultural markets, William Cady said by telephone.
Firstline sought protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in March. It separately sold a film production plant in Valdosta, Ga., to Fortfiber Corp. of Incline Village, Nev.
The company that bought the Pearson operation with Cady was Cady Acquisition Corp., an affiliate of Morris Capital Management of Chattanooga, Tenn.
Clariant acquires Ciba masterbatch unit
MUTTENZ, SWITZERLAND - Clariant AG has added to its color concentrates lineup by purchasing the masterbatches business of Ciba Specialty Chemicals AG for an undisclosed sum.
The deal includes plants in France, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. The Ciba unit employs 300 and has annual sales of about 80 million Swiss francs (US$64 million).
The deal comes almost eight years after the two major Swiss chemical firms called off a mega-merger. It is Clariant's first concentrates deal since it bought Quality Colour of Delta, British Columbia, in 2003.
Muttenz-based Clariant ranks as one of the world's largest makers of color concentrates and compounds and plastic additives. The firm also is one of North America's largest producers of those products. Its masterbatches business is in Holden, Mass. Clariant's overall annual sales were $6.2 billion in 2005.
Ciba is based in Basel, Switzerland, with North American headquarters in Tarrytown, N.Y. The firm produces colorants, additives and other specialty chemicals and posted sales of $5.6 billion in 2005.
MAB filing for bankruptcy protection
LOUISVILLE, KY. - Fledgling blow molder MAB Group LLC of Louisville has filed to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, according to a report in the Louisville Business First newspaper.
MAB filed for protection Aug. 25.
MAB began production June 12 with three employees in a leased, 43,000-square-foot plant after committing to invest $4 million in lease payments, renovations and equipment. Early this year, MAB stated it planned to make plastic bottles for milk, water and juice.
In late June, the company qualified for a $388,000 loan from the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority to create 39 jobs.
MAB could not close on the loan because it could not raise matching funds, according to the published report.
Southwest Plastic fire under investigation
LONGVIEW, TEXAS - Recent fires at Southwest Plastic and Fiber Recycling Inc. in Longview are being investigated by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Southwest experienced a second fire Sept. 22 that destroyed the firm's Longview office. The incident followed a Sept. 5 fire that wrecked inventory and recycling equipment in a nearby building.
Assistant Fire Marshall Jimmy Purcell said officials are still trying to determine the causes of the blazes. The ATFE bureau is examining samples and looking at videotape that may shed light on the fire but it could be two weeks or more before officials draw conclusions, Purcell said in an Oct. 5 telephone interview. No one was injured in either conflagration.
Southwest executives could not be reached for comment. Following the first fire, Mike Thompson, Southwest's owner, said the family wanted to rebuild on the site but that could not be reconfirmed. The company continues operating from a separate, intact building on the site that was 100 feet away from the fires.
Southwest also has operations in the nearby communities of Gladewater and Scottsville, Texas.
