Proper Group International LLC has been forced into financial receivership after closing its headquarters plant in Warren, Mich., and selling off pieces of its business over the past year.
Control over what is left of the plastics tooling and molding company was transferred to a court-appointed receiver late last month, according to a notice filed in the Circuit Court for Macomb County, Mich.
The company's lender, JPMorgan Chase, is listed as the plaintiff in the case, while the defendants are 10 entities under the Proper umbrella.
The receiver, Charles Bullock of Southfield-based Stevenson & Bullock PLC, was given possession of the company's income, revenue, rents, proceeds, profits and assets effective June 28, according to the notice.
The receivership indicates the next stage of dismantling the financially defunct automotive and industrial supplier, which rose to be an industry leader at the peak of its 50-year history. Recent years, however, saw the company bleeding money due to poor payment terms with OEMs and outsourcing work to China.
Robert Hamood, president of the company's tooling division, told Crain's Detroit Business earlier this year that a private equity takeover brought hope of saving jobs until the deal went sideways.
Crain's reached out to Hamood and Bullock for comment July 19, as well as the attorneys representing the companies in the receivership process. Crain's Detroit Business is a sister publication of Plastics News.
Proper was No. 7 in the most recent Plastics News ranking of North American toolmakers with an estimated $84 million in sales and an estimated 280 employees. The Warren plant closure was expected to result in 130 layoffs.
Injection presses and other machinery from the Warren plant were auctioned off in May. Proper sold its injection molding plant in South Carolina in April and its lighting products plant in Pulaski, Tenn., last year.
It is not clear what assets and business Proper still had before falling into receivership. Its website appears to be deactivated.