A thermoforming company in North Carolina is undertaking a financial reorganization and expects to find a new buyer.
Piedmont Polymers & Fabrication LLC is a heavy-gauge thermoformer based in Charlotte, N.C., that focuses on the aerospace and transit sectors. The company was formerly the fabrication division of Charlotte-based sheet and semifinished product distributor Piedmont Plastics Inc.
In 2018, Piedmont Plastics sold Piedmont Polymers to ARC Industries Inc., a Charlotte-based financial services company that specializes in buying "old companies from old guys," according to its website. ARC Industries has purchased 20 companies since 1999, according to its LinkedIn page. Reached by telephone, Ernest Cutter of ARC declined to comment.
On Dec. 13, 2020, Piedmont Polymers filed to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
According to documents and audio recordings filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Charlotte, Piedmont Polymers' sales dropped from about $19.2 million in 2019 to about $11.6 million in 2020. Former owner Piedmont Plastics is the largest secured creditor, owed about $5.99 million, according to court documents.
According to the court documents and a recent hearing, Piedmont Polymers has had several prospective buyers visit its 95,000-square-foot operation since the Chapter 11 filing, and the company expects to pick a stalking horse bidder and negotiate exclusively with that potential buyer in the next several weeks.
According to the most recent Plastics News ranking of North American thermoformers, Piedmont Polymers has 20 thermoforming lines. The firm has about 53 employees, according to court documents.
Piedmont Polymers officials and their lawyers did not return messages from Plastics News.