New York Wire agreed to sell to Phifer Inc. for $8.8 million last Thursday as part of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
The sale came at a bankruptcy auction for the Hanover-based maker of wire mesh products, which filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October.
District of Delaware federal bankruptcy court filings showed that JRP Wire Acquisitions, LLC won the auction to buy Wire Company Holdings, Inc. and Wire Property Holdings, LLC, the legal entities that do business as New York Wire.
An asset purchase agreement in the filings shows Phifer Inc., a Tuscaloosa, Alabama-based company, as the sole parent of JRP Wire Acquisitions, LLC. A bankruptcy judge will have to approve the sale before it is final.
Phifer's website describes the company as "a leader in the insect screen, solar control fabrics, drawn wire, engineered products and designed fabrics industries." Phifer was incorporated in 1952 and is the largest producer of aluminum and fiberglass insect screening, the website said.
New York Wire CEO Guy Fritz said two other bidders were present at the auction, though he declined to say who they were. Fritz said the $8.8 million price, which exceeded the court's minimum bid of $8.1 million, speaks to the value of the company.
Fritz said New York Wire's 240 area employees will see some improvements, but day-to-day operations will remain relatively unchanged. He said the sale is a turning point for the company and a chance to find ways to improve.
“The company has now passed the low point in its history and has a very bright future ahead of it," he said.
Fritz has said New York Wire's financial problems began during the 2007-2009 recession and were worsened by a troubled overseas manufacturing operation.
In 2011, Crimson Capital Partners III bought New York Wire. In 2012, the company opened a manufacturing facility in China. That facility had "long and expensive start-up issues, including high turnover in the general manager position as well as production delays and other problems," the company said in a bankruptcy court filing. Those problems, as well as the cost of increased inventory controls at the plant, led New York Wire to default on obligations.
The company showed more than $12.2 million in outstanding secured debt and in excess of $3.4 million in other obligations, bankruptcy filings stated.
New York Wire is the oldest wire weaver in the country and the first to design a loom capable of weaving metal wire, according to a book published for the Manufacturers' Association of South Central Pennsylvania's 100th anniversary. The 127-year-old company is one of the largest producers of insect screening in the world, according to the book.
Fritz said New York Wire will keep its brand and name under the new ownership. He said Phifer is a great company in its own right.
“They’re a very reputable competitor, a very good family-owned business that has been around a long time," Fritz said. "They have a great reputation in the market.”