Amsler Canadian workers told to seek new work as owner Benpac restructures

Blow molding equipment maker Amsler Equipment Inc. in Canada is essentially closed as part of a restructuring plan of New York-based Benpac Holding Inc., and the remaining employees have been advised to find new work. Meanwhile, businesses in Europe that are part of Swiss-based Benpac Holding AG are in liquidation.

Both holding companies are part of Stans, Switzerland-based Benpac Group, which is now focused on establishing country-specific companies that offer an entire portfolio of packaging solutions in North America, Europe and Asia.

North American businesses are operating as Benpac Packaging Canada Ltd., which is relocating from the closed Amsler site in Vaughn, Ontario, to a yet-to-be-named location, and Benpac Systems LLC, which is a production center in Johnstown, Pa., to make parts and controls and assemble machines. Benpac Packaging Canada will offer PET bottle blowing machines, metal packaging, blisters, thermoforming, paper-based packaging and medical parts, Benpac Group CEO Marco Corvi said in a Jan. 20 email.

Some Amsler employees could find work at Benpac Packaging Canada, which will also directly serve the control technology sector for Siemens and B&R PLC systems, Corvi said.

"At the moment we are trying to get an overview of the actual situation at Amsler, which is very difficult," Corvi said of the business founded in 1994 by Swiss immigrant Werner Amsler. "We have asked employees to look around for other employment, as we are completely restructuring our business in Canada and North America."

Amsler employees are considering their options. They started 2022 with New Year's wishes from Corvi for happiness and health as well as a request.

"We will probably not continue Amsler. Therefore, I ask you to reorient yourself regarding a job," Corvi told them in a Jan. 5 email.

The four-paragraph email also announced the departure of a one-time Benpac board member. Corvi told Amsler employees that the former official "is no longer in charge" and not to contact him.

Amsler employees have been concerned about the future of the company for a while. In November, they were locked out of their new location in Vaughn for nonpayment of rent to the recently bankrupted Niigon Machines Ltd., which Benpac had also considered acquiring.

Corvi said Niigon billed Amsler about C$150,000 (US$119,619) for use of the space about 10 days before Niigon declared bankruptcy.

In another rent dispute last year, Corvi said a former Amsler employee failed to pay "incidental costs of the lease and parts of the rent" despite threats of lockout.

Benpac officials didn't find out the rent was in arrears until April 2021, Corvi added, even though the Amsler employee was supposed to be sending weekly business progress reports about sales and opportunities along with a financial overview. The weekly reports were considered a way for Benpac officials in Europe to monitor the business at a time of travel bans and restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Corvi said the reports were submitted sporadically and lacked details.

"Already from March 2020, this information was only provided to us in a slow manner and often only after massive pressure and demand," Corvi said. "What works without problems at other companies in which we are involved was only available with difficulty."

Also in 2021, Corvi said the Amsler employee requested an immediate transitional loan of US$100,000 to buy parts for three machine orders.

"Once this $100,000 was paid, the three machines could be completed," Corvi said. "Unfortunately, this statement also proved to be incorrect. We transferred this $100,000 to Amsler within two days. What we did not know at that time is that the mountain of debt at Amsler, accumulated only in 10 months and concealed from us, already amounted to over US$750,000 at that time. None of the weekly and financial reports reflected this desolate situation."

Another time, Corvi said, the holding company and he privately gave Amsler $750,000 to pay invoices of a supplier.

"Unfortunately, we had to learn in spring 2021 that this supplier was not paid, although we had provided the funds for it," Corvi said.

He said he has brought in another party to review company records. "We are still investigating the disaster at Amsler," Corvi said. "We cannot say with certainty what the exact situation is at Amsler. Since both the 2020 financial statements, the tax documents and other business documents are not up to date. We have commissioned specialists to clarify the situation surrounding Amsler."

Corvi also pointed to technical problems, saying communication with Amsler staff was tedious when it came to questions about drawings of machine designs transferred from Amsler to Switzerland.

"Questions about these were sometimes not answered at all and sometimes only after weeks of back and forth. We then had to find out and correct the errors ourselves in Switzerland, which took a time of over 18 months," Corvi said.

The liquidation of Benpac Holding AG, which was founded "for the sole purpose of combining difficult and uncertain acquisitions under one roof," doesn't hinder Benpac Group's strategy, Corvi said.

Member companies are:

• Benpac Maschinenbau AG, formerly the assembly division of Gallus Ferd. Rüesch AG.

• Benpac Produktions AG, formerly the production site of Müller Martini AG.

• Benpac Fertigungs AG, formerly the site of Berghoff Mechanical Engineering AG.

• Benpac Packaging AG, formerly Rohrer AG.

• Benpac Services AG and Detron AG.

"These were all companies that were on the verge of closure and whose continuation stood under uncertain stars," Corvi said.

To give these companies "a chance," Corvi added, they were grouped together under Benpac Holding AG as high-risk investments and infused with more than 12 million Swiss francs (US$13.1 million) during the last two years by Benpac Group's controlling entity called Familyoffice Corvi.

"The dissolution of Benpac Holding AG and the companies grouped under this umbrella has no impact on the successful strategy of the Benpac Group, which is controlled by Familyoffice Corvi," Corvi said. "To date, Familyoffice has not openly communicated all of its holdings, which are not all under the Benpac name. This will be done on the occasion of a media conference in the middle of the year."