A composite parts plant in San Diego is closing shortly after the business was sold, but all of the employees are being offered jobs with the new owner.
Performance Plastics Inc. sold its assets to Rock West Composites Inc. for an undisclosed price in late September. PPI's 80-employee plant in San Diego now is closing, according to a WARN notice filed with the state of California.
In an Oct. 4 letter to employees, PPI officials said that the firm "has been struggling to remain solvent and will be permanently closing as a business." They added that the sale to RWC was made "so that [the firm's] debtors could be paid off and avoid bankruptcy."
RWC is offering employment to all PPI employees, PPI officials said in the letter. RWC is based in West Jordan, Utah, and operates plants in San Diego, Salt Lake City and Tijuana, Mexico.
PPI was founded in 1982 and made precision-engineered composite aerostructure components for major military and commercial OEMs, as well as Tier 1 suppliers. Services provided by PPI included compression molding, assembly and tool design and fabrication. The San Diego plant covers 50,000 square feet.
In a news release when the sale was announced, RWC officials said the deal would expand the firm's product offering into complementary markets that have little overlap with its existing businesses, but that use similar materials and processes.
RWC is an employee-owned firm that develops, engineers, manufactures and tests composite products for industries including aerospace, defense and commercial and sporting equipment.